First-Round Remarks from Roger Sloan 33-32—65 (-5)

 

Quick Quotes

Q. You have to be very pleased. Missed only three fairways, three greens. Was that one of your better ball striking days?

ROGER SLOAN: For sure. I mean, under the conditions today, yeah, you just kind of put your head down and focus on what you can control -- especially with the winds the way it was today.

 

Q. Talk about those conditions. It's supposed to get worse in terms of the wind, like 30 miles an hour this afternoon. How bad was it this afternoon?

ROGER SLOAN: It's gusty. I think when the wind picks up at least it's a little bit steady, and then you can -- earlier this morning it was a little bit gusty.

 

It's been like that all week. It's been nice we've been able to prep for it Tuesday and Wednesday. It's Fort Worth. It's going to blow out here. It's good, especially this golf course. Really makes you pay attention to all the details.

 

Q. You're from Canada but you live in Houston; went to UTEP, so you know all about the heat in Texas. You kind of like this time of year, don't you?

ROGER SLOAN: Absolutely. It's a great time of year. I just turned 32 a couple weeks ago, so May is always a good month for me. Playoff hockey is still going strong and baseball is getting into full gear. So, yeah, it's a great time of year, and especially here in Texas. Get a little heat going, wind is blowing. It's good.

 

Q. Blues or Bruins? Who is going to win the Stanley Cup?

ROGER SLOAN: That's tough. You know, I'm going to go with the Blues. You know, not a big Bruins fan.

 

Q. You're a Toronto fan though, aren't you?

ROGER SLOAN: No, not at all. I'm a Flames fan. I grew up west coast. I just hope for an entertaining series, something that goes six or seven games where those guys are throwing their body around. It's going to be a good series.

 

Q. Sum up your day. Obviously a very good one.

ROGER SLOAN: Yeah, you know, we hit the ball very solidly and I hit a couple good putts out there. This golf course is all about putting yourself in position off the tee and kind of just hitting the middle of the greens and giving yourself some chances, and we did that very nicely today.

 

Q. You hadn't seen this course before this week?

ROGER SLOAN: Never have.

 

Q. Feel like it was one of those courses that might -- I don't know if you heard about it -- fit your eye?

ROGER SLOAN: You know what? I've always heard that. My swing coach is in the Dallas area and he told me this golf course would suit me well. I like it. You kind of have to be a little methodical around there and I enjoy courses like that. It's not always a driver off the tee or 3-wood. Sometimes you have to lay yourself back and play some strategy into some pin positions.

 

I enjoy Colonial very much.

 

Q. Who is your swing coach?

ROGER SLOAN: Jeff Barton at Preston Trail.

 

Q. How often do you get down to see him?

ROGER SLOAN: I live in Houston, so come up probably half a dozen times in the year.

 

Q. Runner-up in Puerto Rico, I think. How would you kind of describe your play since then?

ROGER SLOAN: Well, I've struggled mightily actually. Since Valspar I think I missed four of the last five cuts, and one I did make was NDF, so a little bit of a struggle. That's the tendency every year for me. Get off to a good start, go into a little bit of a lull.

 

So I'm pleased I was able to strike it nicely today and turn things around heading into the last little kick of the regular season.

 

Q. Why do you think that is? Obviously if you knew...

ROGER SLOAN: Yeah, I think I just come out of the off-season just well rested. I'm able to have a little bit of success, and then that success sometimes I start chasing continuing that play rather than really focusing on what it was that got me there. That's the process.

 

So then I hit the reset button after several tournaments and commit myself to the process. You would think by now I'd figure that out. It's the ebbs and flows of golf. It's very difficult to play your best every single week. Just trying to learn every single week and apply it to the next.

 

Q. Was there something in the last few days that you thought might have clicked?

ROGER SLOAN: Not really. You know, every week even during those missed cuts there was something that I really liked that I was doing. Just a matter of putting it all together. We'd work on the golf swing and then wouldn't putt very well. Maybe wouldn't chip well. So just kind of got to stay patient and let things all come together.

 

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

Rev #1 by #179 at 2019-05-23 17:24:00 GMT