Ziemer's B.C. Golf Notes: Sloan hoping Korn Ferry Tour provides quick road back to PGA Tour; Svensson closes well at Kapalua; Taylor to make 2023 debut at Sony Open in Hawaii; Macdonald wins in Arizona
Merritt, BC's Roger Sloan - Image Credit: Bernard Brault /Golf Canada
By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf
When the harsh reality of losing his PGA TOUR card hit home, Roger Sloan acknowledges going through a period of mourning of sorts.
“When we lost our card, it got really dark there for several weeks,” Sloan said in a telephone interview from his Houston-area home. “You don’t know when you are going to get back out there. Your friends are out there, you hang out with a bunch of guys out there and it kind of just gets ripped from you.
“I still have dreams of winning on the PGA TOUR and it’s hard to win on the PGA TOUR when you are on the Korn Ferry Tour. So some dreams get ripped from you and that tugs at your heart a little bit. It does get dark. There is a period of time where you just have to let it sink in a little bit, know that it is going to pass and look forward to what opportunities you have right now.”
Sloan has had about four months to let it sink in and is now preparing for what he hopes is his journey back to the PGA TOUR. The 2023 Korn Ferry Tour season tees off later this month with two events in the Bahamas, followed by tournaments in Panama and Colombia. The former Merritt resident plans to play all four of them.
Sloan has spent considerable time over the past four months trying to process what went wrong last year on the PGA TOUR. He finished the season 167th on the FedEx Cup points list, leaving him with no status for the current 2022-23 season. He made just nine of 29 cuts in the 2021-22 PGA TOUR season.
The funny thing is Sloan thought his game was in good shape early in 2022. At The American Express tourney in La Quinta, Calif., he was actually tied for the lead heading into the back nine of the final round. He didn’t close well, finishing in a tie for 14th, but felt like he was making progress.
“I took a two-week break after that event and I was really encouraged because I felt like my game was in tip-top shape,” he said. “And then things kind of just fell apart. I can’t really put my finger on specific reasons because I felt all year like I was really close.
“I was not that far off and that’s the PGA TOUR in a nutshell. I missed a lot of cuts by one or two strokes. All of a sudden if a couple of putts drop on the Friday or a tee shot bounces into a fairway, then maybe you are playing on the weekend two or three shots inside the cut number and you are competing for the tournament title. It’s such a fine line out there. I didn’t feel like I was playing poorly, I just wasn’t able to play at my best every single day.”
Sloan’s mood has been brightened by the addition of a new member to his family. Sloan’s wife Casey delivered a son, Cade, on Dec. 16. He joins five-year-old daughter Leighton and three-year-old son Jude. “We have been a busy household the last little bit,” Sloan said with a laugh.
The 35-year-old Sloan is determined to use his demotion to the Korn Ferry Tour to make improvements to his game. “There are some areas that have kind of restricted me from competing on a more regular basis on the PGA TOUR, more from a mental standpoint,” he said. “I am looking forward to going back down on the Korn Ferry Tour, putting myself in those positions to win golf tournaments and be able to work on certain aspects of my game.
“Now that I know I am good enough to be on the PGA TOUR, it’s not a matter of am I going to get back out there. If I look after what I need to do and continue to get better, I’ll be back out there and be that much better when I do.”
BIG PAYDAY: Surrey’s Adam Svensson closed with a five-under 68 and finished 37th at the Sentry Tournament of Champions in Maui. Svensson completed the event at Kapalua’s Plantation Course at five-under par, 22 shots behind winner Jon Rahm. The tournament was the first of the PGA TOUR’s new ‘elevated’ events and featured a $15-million purse for the 39-player field.
Svensson took home a cheque for $201,000. He currently sits eighth on the FedEx Cup points list. Svensson and Abbotsford’s Nick Taylor are both in the field for this week’s Sony Open in Hawaii. Abbotsford’s Adam Hadwin is expected to make his 2023 PGA TOUR debut at next week’s American Express event in La Quinta, Calif., where Hadwin has had considerable past success.
SHOOTOUT WINNER: Vancouver’s Stuart Macdonald birdied his final hole to win the Asher Tour’s McCormick Shootout in Arizona by one shot. Macdonald completed the 36-hole event at nine-under par after firing rounds of 69 and 66. He earned $5,000 for the win.
Image courtesy Asher Tour/Twitter
The Asher Tour is the new name for what used to be known as the Golden State Tour. Macdonald and Richmond’s Chris Crisologo were both scheduled to play in the Monday qualifier in Honolulu for this week’s Sony Open in Hawaii.
CHIP SHOTS: Mark Bicknell has left Victoria Golf Club to become the new head professional at Gorge Vale Golf Club in Victoria. Former Gorge Vale head pro Mike Heenan is now the club’s executive professional. . .Vancouver’s Michelle Liu tied for 15th at the 97th South Atlantic Women’s Amateur at Oceanside Country Club in Ormond Beach, Fla. . .Burnaby’s Luna Lu, the reigning B.C. Junior Girls champion, tied for 15th at the Orlando International Amateur at Orange County National. . .Coquitlam’s A.J. Ewart tied for 39th at the Jones Cup Invitational in Georgia.