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Mac Meets: Hughes interviews fellow pro Roger Sloan

SportBox Group

As part of a new regular series, theScore-sponsored professional golfer Mackenzie Hughes this week me​ets fellow Canadian and PGA Tour pro Roger Sloan and chats about a potential alternative career on the ice, crazy pro-am experiences, and who makes him laugh most on tour.

MACKENZIE HUGHES: What is the biggest adjustment you’ve had to make now that you are on the PGA Tour?

ROGER SLOAN: When I transitioned from PGA Tour Canada to the Web.com Tour there were a lot of adjustments. I tried to use that experience in preparation for playing on the PGA Tour this year. The scale of everything on the PGA Tour is just so much bigger - more people, the environment is completely different and my time management has to be a lot better. The biggest adjustment I’ve had to make is getting used to the number of spectators around from the moment you step on-site each week, which can get a little overwhelming and chaotic. Someone once told me the PGA Tour is a travelling circus and you have to find your place in it.

MAC: What is the craziest experience you’ve had during a pro-am?

ROGER: A few years ago I was playing in a PGA TOUR Canada pro-am. My amateur playing partner had just moved to Edmonton from the Netherlands and had never played golf before. After learning he would be playing in the pro-am, he was thankful to have found a set of golf clubs in the barn on the farm he just bought. It was on about the 5th hole that he realized that the only club he could hit was a 6 iron. So for the rest of the round, no matter where he was, all he hit was a 6 iron - off the tee, out of bunkers and chipping - it was quite comical!

Earlier this year I played the Pebble Beach Pro-Am where you get to meet some really cool people. I had the privilege of playing with a Google executive and got an insider perspective on where the future of the IT world is headed. That was pretty awesome.

MAC: If you weren’t a professional golfer, what career path would you be pursuing?

ROGER: To be completely honest, I would be on skates trying to win the Stanley Cup. Hockey is my passion - I love the team environment and everything about the game. I was blessed to be a pretty skilled hockey player, so if I wasn’t playing professional golf I would definitely be pursuing hockey.

MAC: You’re from Calgary, what’s it been like watching the Flames during the playoffs?

ROGER: It’s great seeing a sea of red at the Flames games during the playoffs. The atmosphere itself is something worth staying up for. I think the coolest thing about the sea of red is that everyone is actually wearing a Flames jersey and not just a t-shirt like in other cities. It’s also fun to watch a team with a bunch of young 20-year-olds that give it their all every single night.

MAC: We roomed together in Halifax during the Nova Scotia Open, which you won. Is it safe to say that I was your favorite roommate on tour last year?

ROGER: Well it’s safe to say that I’m waiting for you to come join me on the PGA Tour! It’s funny because I haven’t had a roommate since my first year of professional golf on PGA Tour Canada. It was a breath of fresh air to finally have someone to talk with. It was definitely a good week for me on and off the golf course!

MAC: If you could give your 18-year-old self advice, what would you say?

ROGER: I would say don’t be in a rush. Sometimes players put a little bit too much pressure on themselves to get to the PGA Tour right away. If you continue to get better, your opportunity will come. That has been my mentality for a long time - to have patience. Whether it was getting out on the PGA Tour when I was 24, 28 or 34, I always had the confidence it would come at some point.

MAC: Who is the funniest guy on the PGA Tour?

ROGER: There are a lot of characters on the PGA Tour. So far the biggest character that I’ve come across is Alex Cejka. He is fiery on the golf course and can get a little heated, but off the course he is so funny and always makes me laugh. He once lost a bet to me during a practice round. As a result, he had to serve me drinks on the driving range in front of everyone - it was full bottle service with a towel on his arm!

MAC: Who would you like to play with most and why?

ROGER: Jim Furyk. What I like most about Jim is how disciplined he is. He’s probably gotten the absolute most out of his golf game of any player on tour. He isn’t trying to get Jason Day’s power or Dustin Johnson’s fluidity, he’s out there as Jim and making the most of his skills. Whether it’s Monday or Sunday, he brings his lunchbox, goes to work, and at the end of the day goes home to his family. He is the epitome of a professional and I would love the opportunity to play golf with him.

Roger Sloan's Biography

After spending two seasons on the Web.com Tour, Roger Sloan will make his rookie debut on the PGA Tour during the 2014-2015 season. Sloan finished 24th on Web.com Tour’s regular-season money list to earn his card, becoming one of the youngest Canadians on tour at the age of 27. In 2014, Sloan won his first Web.com Tour event on home soil at the Nova Scotia Open. Sloan has spent the last two seasons on the Web.com Tour, where he has racked up three Top-10 finishes.

Sloan cut his teeth on PGA Tour Canada from 2010 to 2012, winning the Western Championship in 2011 and playing in the RBC Canadian Open that year at Shaughnessy Golf and Country Club in Vancouver. That followed a successful stint at the University of Texas at El Paso, where Sloan was named second team All-Conference USA in his senior year.

Roger currently resides in Houston, Texas, with his wife. In his downtime, Roger enjoys playing his favourite golf course, Tobiano; cheering for the Calgary Flames, Indianapolis Colts, and Boston Red Sox; and skiing.

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