For McKinley Slade, eight years ago was in a whole other life.
In 2013, he reached the Quarterfinals of the 108th Rhode Island Amateur at Quidnessett Country Club as an 18-year-old on his way to Bryant University. He fell to Wannamoisett Country Club’s Bobby Leopold, 1-up.
“There’s not as much pressure,” said Slade. “When I was a kid, all I was doing was playing competitive golf. Since I took some time away from playing competitively, when I came back, golf didn’t seem like life or death. Now I have a job and other things in life to focus on. Golf is a hobby for me now, not the career it felt like while playing junior golf.”