Mike Gligic is heading to the PGA Tour. The Korn Ferry golfer made the jump to the PGA Tour after nearly a decade of playing on golf’s mini-tours. He’ll join a group of Canadian stars, led by Adam Hadwin and Corey Conners, on golf’s grandest stage.

After a decade, Burlington, Ont.’s Mike Gligic has finally made the PGA Tour. The big-hitting Canadian toiled on the Mackenzie Tour before cracking the ranks of the PGA Tour after winning earlier this year on the Korn Ferry Tour and finishing in the Top 25 on the money list. He’s now set to join a group of Canadians, including Abbotsford, BC’s Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin, recent winner Corey Conners, former winner Mackenzie Hughes, and veteran David Hearn, on the PGA Tour.

But Gligic is not about to change the way he plays. After all, that got him to the PGA Tour.

“I’m going to approach it like any other tour,” says Gligic.  “I’m not looking at boards or money list, and after 36 holes I’ll ask my caddie whether we made the cut. If we did we’ll play 36 more. Sounds lame and boring, but that works for me. I grew up without a lot of money playing mini-tours and if I look at the board at the Greenbrier and see myself in 10^th, I’ll start thinking about whatever money that is and it is a lot. The less I think about that, the better for me.”

Stars:

Corey Conners—One of the big breakthroughs on the PGA Tour last season, Listowel’s Conners established himself as one of the best ball strikers on the PGA Tour. His putting might be a little shaky, but Conners has demonstrated he can come up big when he needs to. He’s expressed his strong desire to make the Presidents Cup team, and he might well be a captain’s pick.

Adam Hadwin—With a second-place finish and five Top 10 finishes, it is hard to imagine that 2018-19 was an off-year for the British Columbia golfer. But when you’ve shot 59 and won a PGA Tour event, there’s a lot of expectations riding on Hadwin. Expect him to bounce back this coming season, especially since his normally rock-steady chipping game didn’t measure up to his standards this year.

David Hearn—After playing with condition status for the last two seasons, Hearn cracked the Top 25 on the Korn Ferry Tour’s playoff, giving him a full slate on the PGA Tour this coming season. Hearn stumbled through a tough 2018-19 season, making only $397,000, with only one Top 10 finish.

Nick Taylor—Taylor, who won in his rookie year, made 21 of 28 cuts in the 2018-19 season. That was the good news. Unfortunately, he only had one Top 10 finish, so that consistency wasn’t rewarded in the way he might have expected. Taylor doesn’t have any element of his game that particularly stands out. Instead he’s consistent throughout. That was good enough to make him nearly $900,000 last season.

Mackenzie Hughes—Hughes, from Dundas, Ont., broke through on his rookie season, winning the RSM Classic. Since then, he’s spent time trying to find the form that led him to the top of the leaderboard. Fortunately, Hughes played well last season, earning over $1-million, and easily retaining his card. The highlight of the year was a second-place finish in Puerto Rico.

Roger Sloan— At 32, British Columbia’s Sloan is coming off his best year on the PGA Tour, with three Top 10 finishes, including a tie for second in Puerto Rico earlier this year and making the FedExCup. He finished the season strongly, making six consecutive cuts, including a Top 10.

On the outside looking in:

• Ben Silverman—The Toronto golfer, and former Golf Town staffer, had a hit-and-miss season in 2018-19. A tie for 20^th at the RBC Canadian Open, where he shot 61 in the second round, was the highlight of the year. He will likely play most of the season on the Korn Ferry Tour, getting the occasional start on the PGA Tour.
• Adam Svensson—The British Columbia golfer struggled during his rookie season on the PGA Tour, but barely missed getting his playing privileges back after falling just short during the Korn Ferry playoffs. He’s sure to get some starts, and given his reputation as a great ball striker, expect him to make his way back to the PGA Tour soon.