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Roger Sloan is preparing for some Canadian visitors to his home in Houston this week.

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The PGA Tour player from B.C. isnt waiting on the arrival of sun-seeking snowbirds though, with five other Canucks in the field beginning Thursday at Memorial Park Golf Course, Sloan is preparing for a home game of sorts as the PGA Tour lands in his adopted city.

Weve got a few of the Canadian guys coming over tonight, Sloan said during a virtual press conference for the Houston Open on Tuesday. Well have some good steaks, well have some good wine, well hang out with the kids. Yeah, its going to be a good week.

Sloan has reason to enjoy himself as he begins his fifth PGA Tour season, his fourth in a row since gaining and losing tour status in his rookie 2015 season.

Earlier this year, the 34-year-old was well outside the FedEx Cup top-125 as the tour playoffs approached. Sloan, however, saved his best for last, finishing the regular season with a sixth-place finish at the Barracuda Championship, and a T2 finish birdieing two of his final three holes to join a playoff at the regular season-ending Wyndham Championship. The impressive results saw him jump from 137th to 92nd in the standings, make the playoffs, and secure his status for the 2021-22 season.

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I kind of attribute it a little bit to my Canadian background, a little bit blue collar, Sloan said. I just never give up. I was a third-line grinder type of hockey player, so I never give up. Doesnt matter whether Im teeing it up on Sunday in 65th or teeing it up in 5th, Im going to put a solid effort in and Im never going to give up, Im always going to put my best foot forward.

Sloan attributes his recent success to an improved mental attitude, but the blue collar philosophy he brought with him from Merritt, B.C., could also sabotage him at times. In his rookie season he had a hard time coming to terms with the idea that in one good week he could make more than his father and friends back home could make in a year. Even more recently he would allow his mind to go through some dangerous what-ifs as he was chasing a good finish.

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Sometimes I get caught up in the magnitude of the situation, I can go down the storylines of what that shot represents or what a good finish that week represents, he said. Meanwhile, Im just sitting in the middle of the 16th fairway with a 6-iron in my hand and Ive gone down this pipeline of all these thoughts and it just builds the shot up too much to where its not a 6-iron anymore, now its the most crucial shot Ive ever hit in my career. Just being able to separate myself from the storylines and really turning a 6-iron into just a 6-iron.

His clutch late-season finishes are proof to him that the work on the mental side is paying off.

Sloan attended college at the University of Texas-El Paso and has lived in the state since graduating in 2009. His wife Casey is a Houston native and the area has become home for the couple and their two children. He confirmed on Tuesday that neighbours arent likely to forget the outdoor skating rink he built during a freak ice storm last winter.

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Everyone needs a Canadian in their neighborhood when the freeze comes, he said.

Although there has been plenty to smile about recently, the pandemic and travel restrictions have taken a toll on the Sloans, who continue to travel the U.S. as a family on the PGA Tour.

Honestly, its been really tough, he said. I havent been back to Canada since the pandemic started. Ive got a soon-to-be 2-year-old son, hes never been to Canada. Its really tough. Ive had two grandparents pass away in the last eight months and not being able to go home right away and go see my family in those moments is really difficult.

With borders re-opening, some sense of normality returning and a little time off coming up before the 2022 PGA Tour schedule kicks off in Hawaii in January, perhaps the Sloans will be able to make the long-awaited trip north. This week though, hell be enjoying the comfort of his adopted-home, and hosting some hungry Canadians.

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EUROPEAN TOUR GETS NEW CASH AND MORE MONEY

Golf has a new world tour but its not a rival upstart and its coming from the old world.

Beginning next year, the European Tour will be rebranded the DP World Tour in a deal that will see total prize money double to more than $200 million.

The launch of the DP World Tour in 2022 will herald a new era in global golf, and crucially it will benefit everybody involved all our players, caddies, fans and partners, said chief executive of the European Tour Keith Pelley.

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The Canadian-raised Pelley, who was previously president of Rogers Media, went on to say the change in title better reflects the tours global reach. With DP World as the title sponsor, the tour also announced minimum tournament purses of $2 million, and a $10 million US purse for the season-ending DP World Tour Championship.

With just 23 of the tours 47 scheduled events set to take place in Europe, it seems a fitting change for a tour that had its share of troubles coming out of the pandemic.

The European Tour throughout COVID and coming out of COVID, there has been a lot of events that are not up to the standard that the tour is at, or should be at, Irishman Shane Lowry told the Golf Channel. Im delighted for everyone that plays the tour full time. DP World is a Dubai-based logistics company that has been associated with the European Tour for more than a decade.

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McCARTHY: Sloan the Canadian host at Houston Open - Toronto Sun