Takeaways: Sloan expecting child, Southgate surges

News and observations from the Albertsons Boise Open presented by Kraft Nabisco, where Chesson Hadley captured his second Web.com Tour event of 2017 by one shot over Ted Potter Jr. and Jonathan Randolph. It was Hadley’s fourth career Web.com Tour title. 

Sloan has baby on the mind

With Roger Sloan’s wife, Casey, set to give birth to the couple’s first child early this week, Sloan – who also lives in Houston – had a few other things on the mind in Boise.

But that didn’t stop him from having a fine result. 

Sloan finished tied for ninth, his first top-10 since the Pinnacle Bank Championship presented by Heartland Chevy Dealers in July, and puts him in a tie for 20th on The Finals 25, and on the cusp of earning PGA TOUR status once again. 

He admitted there was ‘a lot’ going on, but is excited for the next chapter of his life. 

“You’re playing for a job promotion, but we’ve got baby No. 1 on the way next week,” said Sloan. “I’m just excited. I’m excited for that chapter in my life, and it’s above and beyond anything golf can bring you, so I’m just excited for that chapter in my life and excited to meet that newborn baby, and it’s going to be a great time in our life.” 

Sloan said he looks at the success Ben Silverman had earlier in the year after his first child was born – where Silverman notched his first victory along with three other top-10 finishes. 

“(Silverman) had a baby and then blitzed the fields for a couple of weeks; you realize that there are things bigger than what you do on the golf course,” said Sloan. “It puts things into perspective. It’s just nice to have something else to focus on. You’re reading books about how to be a dad and how to comfort your pregnant wife … you don’t think as much on the golf course; you just go play golf.”

Sloan also went through the Hurricane Harvey disaster in his hometown of Houston, but said his house managed to stay dry. He was prepared to go to San Antonio to practice, but said his home club, Royal Oaks, did an amazing job at keeping the course in playable condition. 

“There were many other homes that were utterly destroyed because of the flooding. You see their lives and you feel for them. There were volunteers everywhere helping their fellow neighbor out, and to see citizens coming together, it’s very comforting,” said Sloan.

The 30-year-old wasn’t the only father-to-be that was a story in Boise, as David Skinns, who was near the lead after Friday’s second round, withdrew as his wife went into labor with their second child. 

“I’m lucky that my wife didn’t have the baby because if (Skinns) left the tournament to be with his wife, and I didn’t leave to be with my wife, then I would have looked like an idiot,” said Sloan with a laugh. “Happy for David Skinns. That’s an incredible thing, to have a newborn.”

Southgate takes advantage of a ‘great’ opportunity

After a top-10 result at the Open Championship earlier this year, Matthew Southgate took his talents to the U.S. for the Web.com Tour Finals, and so far, he has made the most of his time across the pond. 

Southgate, who is well on his way making it to the Race to Dubai – the season-ending series of events on the European Tour – on the heels of his tie for sixth at The Open and a tie for fourth at the Irish Open, found out the Thursday prior to the first Web.com Tour Finals event, the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship, that he had qualified for the Finals.

The 28-year-old Englishman missed the cut in Columbus but finished tied for fifth this week in Boise, and now is on the cusp of earning his TOUR card. 

He said playing in the Web.com Tour Finals was too good an opportunity to pass up. 

“It was a great opportunity for me to just give it a try. I’ve missed a few (tournaments) in Europe, but I wanted to give it a chance,” he said. 

Southgate is friends with Andrew ‘Beef’ Johnston, who also played well in Boise a year ago. 

“He played well here last year, which is a bit of an inspiration, and I think the two golf courses we’ve played so far would suit a European player, so that’s been to our advantage,” explained Southgate.

Southgate said he’s eager to play the PGA TOUR and have the opportunity to play big tournaments ‘every week versus just some weeks.’

“If I could fill the weeks where Europe has some smaller events by playing on the PGA TOUR, that would be great for me and my world ranking,” he said. “I want to compete against the best players, and in Europe we get to do that maybe 10 times a year, but in the States you get to do that more.”  

Potter Jr. comes up short

In a microcosm of his season, Ted Potter Jr. fell just short in his bid to win his first Web.com Tour event of 2017. 

Potter, who has six top-10 finishes this season, finished tied for second at the Albertsons Boise Open presented by Kraft Nabisco, and was fairly close to forcing a playoff with winner Chesson Hadley. 

He hit his approach on No. 18 to 4 feet, knowing he had to hole it from the fairway, and had a birdie look on No. 17 that he just couldn’t convert on. 

He said that he’s pleased with how his game is trending as he heads back to the PGA TOUR. 

“I started well at the beginning of the season, went through a bit of a slump in the middle, and got it back after that,” he explained. “I’m looking forward to the next few tournaments and getting started on the TOUR.” 

Potter moved to sixth in the The 25 combined money list standings. He’ll still need a victory to usurp Hadley on top, but is looking forward to the challenge. 

“You never know,” he said. “I’m playing well, so a couple of good finishes and we’ll see.” 

Svensson escapes Hurricane Irma

It’s been a weird week for Canadian Adam Svensson, who hunkered down with nine others in a hurricane-proof house to escape the wrath of Irma earlier in the week. He flew to Boise on Tuesday night, didn’t play a practice round, and walked 10 holes on Wednesday. 

He hit balls and putted, and hadn’t touched a club in a week prior to when he began warming up in Boise.

“I actually felt pretty refreshed and ready to go. Maybe there was an advantage on that, but I don’t know,” he said. “I was ready to go.”

Svensson finished tied for fifth, his best result since June, and moved to the cusp of earning a PGA TOUR card via the Web.com Tour Finals money list. 

“It’s my lifelong goal … my dream … to get to the PGA TOUR,” said Svensson. “If I get to the PGA TOUR, it’s pretty amazing to me.” 

Svensson said the extra rest made him more patient, and helped him eliminate a lot of mistakes.  

“I felt good. It felt good to have rest … I’ve never had that much,” he explained. “I might take that into consideration other times. 

Svensson finished at 12-under, tied with England’s Matthew Southgate and Americans Andrew Landry and Tyler Duncan.

The Finals 25 shapes up

There was no movement with respect to the top two spots on The Finals 25, as both Peter Uihlein and Ryan Armour sit 1-2 respectively (Uihlein finished tied for 29th this week, while Armour was tied for 51st). 

But with Jonathan Randolph – part of The 25 a year ago – finishing tied for second, he moved to third place and virtually secured PGA TOUR status once again for next season. 
Tom Lovelady missed the cut, but dropped just one spot from third to fourth. Alex Cejka rounds out the top five after finishing solo fourth this week in Boise. 

Svensson was a big mover this week, from T40 to seventh, along with Southgate, who went from tied for 58th to ninth. 

Perennial bubble boy Rob Oppenheim moved one step closer to earning TOUR status, and is eighth on The Finals 25. 

After a tie for 63rd this week, Alex Prugh sits at the 25th spot.