Okatie, SC– At the eGolf Tour’s season-opening Palmetto Hall Championship last week in nearby Hilton Head Island, SC, Canadian Roger Sloan posted rounds of 66-71-71-70—278 en route to a runner-up finish in his first career tour start. At this week’s Oldfield Open, Sloan picked up where he left off with an opening-round 65 at tournament host Oldfield Country Club, and the first-round lead on day one.

The Oldfield Open is the second of 24 scheduled events on the 2012 eGolf Tour schedule, and is being contested this week at both Oldfield Country Club and Chechessee Creek Club in Okatie, SC.

Sloan, a former University of Texas-El Paso golfer, was one of two players selected to represent Canada in last year’s World Cup qualifier. The British Columbia native opened his 2012 campaign with the runner-up at Palmetto Hall, and entered this week’s Oldfield Open as one of the pre-tournament favorites. Through seven holes of Wednesday’s opening round at Oldfield, Sloan found himself at a sluggish even par with seven pars to his name, but knew better things were soon to come.

“I hit it good early on, but it honestly took me a few holes to get used to the weather as the ball was flying further than it did during the practice rounds,” said Sloan, citing the cooler temperatures on Monday and Tuesday. “Once I got adjusted, I started hitting it closer.”

At the 534-yard par-5 eighth, Sloan his hit approach from 210 yards to 15 feet, and set up an eagle that would prove to be one of many red-figure holes on the day.

“The eagle didn’t really jumpstart my round, but it helped,” said Sloan, 24. “When you’re hitting it solidly, it’s nice just to see something go in the hole. It was kind of a boost in the round though.”

A near-miss at the par-4 ninth kept Sloan at 2-under, and took him to the closing nine of the Greg Norman-designed Oldfield course, where he took full advantage of his opportunities.

A birdie at the narrow par-4 10th led to another birdie at the drive-able par-4 12th, and when Sloan posted back-to-back birdies at 14 and 15, he had vaulted suddenly to 6-under for the day.

“The back nine at Oldfield gives you some chances at birdies, so I knew it was out there,” said Sloan. “Thankfully, I was able to go at some of the pins and make a few putts.”

The opening 65 resembled Sloan’s day one effort at Palmetto Hall, where he posted eight birdies for a 6-under 66 to grab a share of second place through 18 holes. But for Sloan, his play last week – good or bad – remains at Palmetto Hall. He is fully prepared to start anew this week at Oldfield.

“Last week was great. I played well and had a good tournament, but this week is a fresh start,” he said. “It’s pretty much business as usual for me, so Palmetto Hall really has no effect on how I play this week.”

For Thursday’s second round, Sloan will head eight minutes down the road to Chechessee Creek, a Bill Coore/Ben Crenshaw masterpiece that is serving as a first-time co-host of this event. For Sloan, the minimalist style of the duo’s design concept sets up well for his game.

“I played my first practice round at Chechessee Creek on Monday, and loved the golf course. It suits my eye and fits my game, because you really have to control your approach shots into the green,” Sloan said. “The way those greens sit perched up, you can’t get away with any errant approaches. Hopefully I can keep it going tomorrow.”

In second place, one shot behind Sloan with a 6-under 66 at Oldfield, is former Missouri Baptist University “All American” Chris Naegel of Chesterfield, MO.

Naegel, the only player in the top five to play his opening round in the afternoon wind, birdied two of his first seven holes to move to 2-under for the day, prior to going on a proverbial roller coaster over his next six holes.

Starting at the par-5 eighth, Naegel posted a six-hole stretch that read birdie-bogey-birdie-birdie-eagle-bogey from Nos. 8 through 13, and in turn vaulted him up to 5-under for his round. The tumultuous stretch ended with back-to-back pars at Nos. 14 and 15, but Naegel again added to the birdie collection with yet another at the watery par-3 16th. Pars at 17 and 18 gave Naegel his opening 66, which came approximately four days after a T45 finish at Palmetto Hall.

In relation to par, three players are tied for third place at 4-under – Joey McLister and Fernando Mechereffe, who each posted 4-under 68s at Oldfield, and George Bryan IV, who carded a 4-under 66 at Chechessee Creek. All three players finished T19 at last week’s Palmetto Hall Championship.

George Bryan IV

Bryan, whose 66 was the low round of the day at Chechessee Creek, actually bogeyed two of his first four holes on the round to quickly fall behind at 2-over for the event. The former University of South Carolina “All American,” who lives in nearby Chapin, SC, rebounded admirably with birdies at Nos. 5, 7 and 8 to turn at 1-under 34 on the par-70 layout.

On the back nine, Bryan plunged further into red figures with an eagle at the reachable par-5 10th to move to 3-under on the day, but fell back just a few holes later with back-to-back bogeys at Nos. 12 and 13 to return to 1-under.

At the tricky 334-yard par-4 17th, Bryan opted against the traditional long iron tee shot to avoid the protected wetlands fronting the fairway, prior to it bending left towards the green. His aggressive play paid off with a late-round eagle, his second in just eight holes.

“I hit a good driver to 41 yards short of the hole, and just skidded a little 54-degree wedge up the hill and watched it trickle in,” said Bryan, 24. “It reminded me of a shot I holed in college, one I played the exact same way, so that was kind of cool.”

The pitch-in eagle gave way to a closing birdie at the par-4 18th, and Bryan’s 66 solidified his spot inside the top five heading into tomorrow’s second round.

After a rookie eGolf Tour campaign in 2011 in which he notched just one top-10 finish (T7, Southern Open), Bryan came out strong at last week’s Palmetto Hall event with a career-best 7-under 65 in the second round en route to his T19.

McLister, a Delaware native now living in Charlotte, NC, continued his solid play with five birdies and a bogey on Wednesday at Oldfield. His 4-under 68 placed him inside the top-5 through 18 holes for a second consecutive week. At the Palmetto Hall Championship, McLister opened with a 5-under 67 to sit tied for fifth through one round.

Fernando Mechereffe

Mechereffe, a Brazil native and longtime Charlotte resident, opened his week at Oldfield as well and posted a similar scorecard to McLister, with five birdies and a lone bogey at the lengthy par-4 fifth to his credit.

The former N.C. State golfer is a 2012 Nationwide Tour member, and is one of the longest-tenured players on the eGolf Tour.

While still looking for his first tour title, Mechereffe is coming off of a career year on tour, having posted eight top-10 finishes in just 15 starts, and collecting $76,977 in earnings to finish fifth on the season-ending money list.

Since the start of the 2006 season, Mechereffe has played in 87 eGolf Tour events and has collected 16 top-5 finishes during that span. He notched seven runner-up finishes in that stretch as well, including three during the 2011 season.

Following the completion of 36 holes, the field will be cut to the low 53 players and ties for the event’s final two rounds, which will be contested solely at Oldfield. Second-round play in the Oldfield Open will begin at 8:00 AM on Thursday morning at both Oldfield Country Club and Chechessee Creek Club. The tournament is open to the public and free of charge.