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TSN Senior Reporter

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Roger Sloan finally gets to make his debut as a card-carrying, exempt player on the PGA Tour. He'll tee it up at the McGladrey on Thursday afternoon, finally ending the long waiting game he's endured.
 
Sloan didn't get his week of to such a great start however, as this Tweet he sent out explained.

"Storybook start to the week. Got to the airport and realized my wallet decided to stay at home. #Ugh" -- Roger Sloan (@RogerSloan87)

Sloan was an alternate at both the Frys.com Open and the Shriners events but never drew into the fields. That's because his priority ranking is well down the list.

It's also because the tournaments in the fall are attracting a lot of players the Tour probably didn't think would play.

For Sloan, getting a fast start is vital. He can improve his place on the rankings by playing well in his early starts. The Tour will re-shuffle the Web.com grads at various points during the year, with better performing players moving up the list.

Even with good play early on, there's a good chance he'll have to split time between the PGA and Web.com tours.

Getting into tournaments has been a bit of a problem over the past few years for those who earn their PGA Tour cards through the Web.com Tour, but the Tour is trying to alleviate that.
 
Commissioner Tim Finchem is aware of the problem and is hoping to open up the fields to allow these golfers a chance to play. The first two events of the new season were expanded from 132 to 144 players. There's also the addition of the Sandersons Farms Championship, which used to be held opposite the British Open. In all, the Tour said, there are 180 new spots for the recent grads.

For Sloan, an affable and talented player who won the inaugural Nova Scotia Open last summer, the chance to play on the big tour is a dream come true and the result of a lot of hard work.

He's the third member of the B.C. Boys to play this year, joining fellow grads Adam Hadwin and Nick Taylor. No doubt he'll be a little excited when he puts the tee in the ground on Thursday.

That's well deserved. And likely well worth the wait.