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WINDSOR JUNCTION, N.S. - In many ways, the Nova Scotia Open is just another Web.Com Tour event, another chance to move up the money list and get closer to a PGA Tour card for next year. But for the 20 Canadians in the field, it is a rare home game with some tangible benefits. "Its great," said Roger Sloan, who plays out of the Tobiano Golf Club in Kamloops, B.C. "I stopped at Tim Hortons before my round." Perhaps it was the power of that morning double-double that pushed Sloan to a score of four-under 67, the lowest among the Canadians who teed off in the morning wave. "I got off to a really good start," said Sloan. "Birdied my first hole and had a couple of really good birdie opportunities in my first few holes. It was just a solid ball-striking day." Sloan had it to four under through his first nine with birdies on the third, fifth and ninth holes. He pushed that to five under with another one at the 12th before giving that back at the 17th. The New Course at Ashburn isnt long by Web.Com Tour standards but the greens here are providing a suitable defence. The putting surfaces have strong (a polite word) slopes that make getting the ball close on approaches tough and the putting even more difficult. "The greens are tricky," Sloan stated, "so you really have to be in control of the ball to get it close." By the time 36 holes are in the bag, "tricky" might be a nice description for how the players view these greens. They will most certainly be the deciding factor in who wins. Sloan, of course, is hoping that will be him. Hes in his second season on the Triple-A circuit and has been playing some more consistent golf this season, making the cut in seven of 12 starts. However, hes only missed once in his last seven events, showing steady improvement. A year ago, he was anything but consistent, making just five cuts in 19 starts. However there was a slight off-course distraction as he got married. This year, however, his goal was to avoid the highs and lows, and even out his play. "Ive been playing solid all year," he stated, "putting together some solid rounds of golf. Thats what I really wanted to do this year. You never know when those really good rounds are going to come. You just have to keep plugging away and stay focused on one shot at a time." Talking to Sloan its easy to see hes mature and keeps a good perspective on life, something that isnt always found in younger players. He sees the world beyond golf and is obviously well-grounded. He is in the middle of a seven-week run of tournaments but doesnt seem frustrated or burned out or home-sick, despite the fact his wife rarely is able to join him on Tour. He understands his job and the career hes chosen. He prepared himself for this lengthy road trip and is focused on his game. "Theres no job security out here as you might have on the PGA Tour where I can take next week off," Sloan stated. "You have a lot of guys playing really well, lot of great players, too. Theres pressure to play well but at the same time, if youre out here, you have the ability so trust yourself." Unlike a number of the other Canadians such as Adam Hadwin or MacKenzie Hughes, Sloan is playing without much in the way of outside financial backing. He has no major sponsors and wasnt a beneficiary of Golf Canadas Young Pro program when it was announced earlier this year. In fact, hes never really been on the Golf Canada radar, when he was an amateur or now. Its somewhat hard to believe -- actually its shocking -- that with his talent and personality, a company wouldnt embrace him and get behind him. Still, the ever-optimistic Sloan doesnt see that as a problem, but rather a fact that will change only by his doing. "Ive been blessed to play this game professionally on my own accord," he stated. "Its taught me a lot of good values. Its been tough, Ive had to make a lot of sacrifices, my wife and I, in order to make that work. Its tough but at the same time I have to keep focused on playing well and ultimately achieving my goal of winning on the PGA Tour and the money kind of takes care of itself." Cheap MLB Jerseys China . Arsene Wenger reportedly wants to convert the player into an attacking force, much like he did with Robin Van Persie. Cheap MLB Jerseys . "It was a little weird looking over and seeing all the green uniforms," he said of his first game against the Boston Celtics. http://www.cheapjerseysbaseball.com/. The second-ranked Jayhawks will play the Miners of Texas-El Paso at Imperial Arena in the Bahamas. The game can be seen live on TSN2 starting at 7pm et/4pm pt. Jerseys NFL Wholesale . -- Atlanta Braves pitcher Tommy Hanson is being checked for a possible concussion after blowing a tire on his way to the first workout of spring training. Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic . The Indians scored twice in the top of the ninth, getting the go-ahead run on a wild pitch by closer Matt Lindstrom. Axford (0-1) came in seeking his fifth save in as many chances.St Helens coach Keiron Cunningham has asked his players to build on the performance of last weeks loss to Hull FC as they prepare to take on second-place Warrington on Friday night, live on Sky Sports 3. Saints went down 32-24 to Lee Radfords men at KC Stadium in round 16, but there were positives in the game for the 2014 Super League champions.After trailing 12-0 early in the game, Saints fought back to lead 18-14 at the break before being outscored in the second half, which Cunningham believed was against the run of play. I thought we righted a few wrongs with the performance at Hull FC on Saturday and bar a few poor decisions and tough calls from the man in the middle we should have come away with it, said Cunningham. For large portions of the game we were the better side but we came away with nothing other than a little polish on our pride. Phil Clarke previews this weeks Super League fixtures as he rules out a late Leeds Rhinos surge We had lots of opportunities even though we lost our half-back in the first minute. That meant we had to juggle the whole side around and that isnt an easy thing to do. It also hurts our rotation. But every one to a man did themselves proud.We started slowly but built into the game and scored some nice tries. We then had those chances but we got hurt and fell short. That said, it was a good performance. Now we have to build on that into this Fridays game. Saints v Wolves: Key battles Three contests that could decide Fridays Super League clash Luke Walsh was injured in the second minute of the game, forcing Jon Wilkin to pair with Theo Fages in the half-backs, and Cuningham has hinted he may opt for the same pairing on Friday night after it was confirmed Walsh will miss the next few weeks.ddddddddddddWalshy and Theo were going well - Jon Wilkin came in and did a good job on Saturday. He is a good leader for this club and to have his influence in the middle will help us. Keiron Cunningham wants his side to build on last weeks performance These derbies are always good ones no matter what form the teams are in. It will be great for the fans. We got loud support at Hull FC last week and at Magic too. Hopefully, they will turn out in their droves to support us and we can get back to winning ways.We know where we have to head and hard work will take us there. We are working exceptionally hard and Saturday turned the corner for a lot of the players, but we didnt get the spoils. We have to work hard on individual performances and from that the collective will be better.Warrington meanwhile are without second-rower Ben Westwood through injury and prop Ashton Sims because of suspension which will mean a first start for Ryan Bailey, while Jordan Cox and Sam Wilde are back in the Wolves squad. Barrie v Terry podcast Super League round 17 preview St Helens: Kyle Amor, Jack Ashworth, Matty Dawson, Theo Fages, Joe Greenwood, Morgan Knowles, Jonny Lomax, Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Jack Owens, Greg Richards, James Roby, Adam Swift, Lama Tasi, Luke Thompson, Jordan Turner, Atelea Vea, Alex Walmsley, Calvin Wellington, Jon Wilkin.Warrington Wolves: Ryan Atkins, Ryan Bailey, Daryl Clark, Jordan Cox, Ben Currie, Brad Dwyer, Rhys Evans, Kurt Gidley, Chris Hill, Benjamin Jullien, George King, Toby King, Tom Lineham, Gene Ormsby, Joe Philbin, Stefan Ratchford, Chris Sandow, Joe Westerman, Sam Wilde. ' ' '