by Adam Stanley, PGAtour.com

Roger Sloan isn’t afraid to admit that he has been blessed with a great head of hair. His unmistakable locks peek out from behind his ears and underneath his hat when he hits the golf course and has become the stuff of legend, and admiration, on the Web.com Tour. It’s a leftover characteristic Sloan has from his days growing up in British Columbia, playing hockey at such a high level he nearly went to junior camps, nearly quashing his path to golf before it got started. 

Growing up in a small town where the hockey program wasn’t the greatest, Sloan explains that even if he notched four or five points in a game, his team might still lose. His coach would be yelling, and it was a horrible feeling. But when he was on the golf course in the summer — hockey was his passion and he admits golf was something that merely occupied his time in the warmer months — if he shot 75, there was no one to blame but himself. And if he shot 67 and won a tournament, no one could bring that feeling down.

“In hockey you can not play your best and still win, or you could play great and lose. I enjoyed the challenge of making sure I brought my ‘A’ game to golf every single day,” he says. “I’m glad it turned out well in my favour. Watching playoff hockey you sometimes sit and wonder what could have been,” he continues with a day-dreamy laugh. For now, Sloan is content to have a mere connection to hockey via his hair (or his ‘flow’ as its described in hockey vernacular), rather than making that his career choice.

The one-time Web.com Tour winner — he captured the inaugural Nova Scotia Open in 2014, becoming one of just three Canadians to win a Web.com Tour event on Canadian soil, and played the PGA Tour in 2014-15 after finishing 24th on the money list — currently is 32nd on this year’s list, after back-to-back fifth place finishes earlier in the season.

“When I tapped in my final putt in the playoff, the spectators all started singing the national anthem, and the hair on the back of my neck was standing up,”

“If you look at my past history since I turned professional, my first year has always been a struggle, and the second year has been better. I’ve always chalked that up to experience,” he explains. “But when I boil it down, it comes down to trust. I’m a great player, but I’m just trusting that I show up day in and day out.”

The 29-year-old (who celebrated his birthday on May 15) says his victory in Nova Scotia was a pivotal moment in his career, as he realized later it propelled him to having enough money to qualify for the PGA Tour.

“When I tapped in my final putt in the playoff, the spectators all started singing the national anthem, and the hair on the back of my neck was standing up,” he recalls.

“It was one of those moments I’ll never forget.”

Sloan could have potentially notched a second Web.com Tour victory this season had it not been for two double bogeys in a row on his 71st and 72nd holes at the United Leasing & Finance Championship.

“Obviously there are nerves, but I overanalyzed the situation on 18,” he explains of that final round. He pulled his tee-shot on 17 into the hazard and tried to pull off a ‘miracle’ shot. “I’ll learn from that. Even with the double-double finish, [I] still shot 10-under on the weekend. You have to put yourself in a position to win in order to lose, so I had some good opportunities to learn from when that situation presents itself next time,” Sloan continues.

He finished tied for 32nd at the BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by SYNNEX Corporation last week before enjoying a week off at home. Sloan visited with his coach in Dallas to work on a couple of things before a long upcoming stretch.

“I haven’t seen him since the season started, and it was a chance for us to get together and express what I’ve been doing so far,” says Sloan. “If things go haywire in a couple months, I can always revert back to some of the things we discussed. It was good to do some routine maintenance and make sure everything stays in good form.”

When not working on his game this week, you may find Sloan in front of his new smoker. The barbecue aficionado (Sloan has called Houston home since his collegiate days, and was born in Calgary, Alberta — home to some of Canada’s finest beef) confirms he has “fallen in love” with barbecuing since becoming an honorary Texan.

“I love to cook outside. It’s kind of therapeutic to put a nice piece of meat on the smoker and take a few days to eat it. It’s one of those things to help get my mind off golf,” he says, laughing.

Sloan admits the week-in, week-out grind on the Web.com Tour can be taxing, so he tries his best to decompress when at home. He says he tries not to worry too much about the big picture, and instead continues to believe in his own abilities.

“It’s gotten easier for me this year,” he says. “Two or three years ago when I was first on this Tour, it was a grind. I just came from the [Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour Canada] where 15-under wins, 12-under wins, and there’s the odd event where 20-under wins. But you’re on this tour and guys are going really low. If you’re not shooting 67 when you’re in contention, you’re going to get waxed.”

After 2015, he feels he belongs on the PGA Tour. But Sloan knows professional golf is a marathon, not a sprint.

“I realized you have to bounce back-and-forth a couple times to establish yourself out there, it’s part of the process,” he explains. “Everyone’s path is a little different. My goal is to get a little better each year, and keep my nose to the grindstone and stick to that process.”

Reprinted with permission from the PGA Tour. For more stories, visit PGAtour.com.