New Game, New Thinking: Cody Freeman profile

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Cody Freeman was just ending another workout when Rudy Klancnik caught up to him in Edmund, Okla., during U.S. Open week. Unfortunately for the 29-year-old rookie, he wasn't in Torrey Pines with his buddies, but he certainly seems well on his way to establishing himself on the TOUR for quite some time.

PGATOUR.COM: You grew up in Oklahoma and played golf at OU. Wisdom would dictate that you're a pretty big Sooner fan.

FREEMAN: Oh yeah, Sooners football is an awfully big deal in this part of the world. Competing for national championships practically every season will get people's attention.

PGATOUR.COM: So tell, us what type of stick is Bob Stoops?

FREEMAN: He's got a great swing and he looks like he can get around the course pretty well. I've only played a couple of holes with him in some charity outings, but he's definitely got some game. Of course, golf is about practice and Coach Stoops spends most of his time doing other stuff. But if he focused on it, I'm sure he'd be really good.

PGATOUR.COM: Quarterbacks and placekickers typically are good players. Do you find that to the case?

FREEMAN: I haven't played with any placekickers, but that would make sense since they've got good hand-eye coordination. Actually, tennis players are good golfers. They've got great timing. But quarterbacks, yeah, they can play. A couple of them at OU are really strong players. The current QB, Sam Bradford, is an excellent player according to Coach Stoops. Bradford shot a 63 at a local course. And I've played several times with former OU quarterback Nate Hybel and I can tell you that he's a superb player.

PGATOUR.COM: Speaking of golf-playing QBs, did you see what Tony Romo shot at Torrey Pines?

FREEMAN: I did, but he's a scratch player so that's not a huge stretch. I would have rather see four real 10-handicappers tee it up on that course. That would have been scary.

PGATOUR.COM: I see that you're married with two little guys. Sounds like time away from the course is as hectic as your time on it.

FREEMAN: There's no free time, but that's OK with me. I've got two boys (Myles is nearly 3 years old and Bryce is 10 months) and they're both very mobile. Right now, they're focused on "The Wiggles." They recently were given a Wiggles guitar...not the best gift for the parents.

PGATOUR.COM: You haven't lived until you've seen The Wiggles in concert.

FREEMAN: I don't know about that, but I just wish they hadn't gotten that guitar.

PGATOUR.COM: Do you blame your wife for the guitar incident?

FREEMAN: No, but she did accept the gift (laughs).

PGATOUR.COM: Coming out of high school, we're you big man on campus or the guy in the shadows?

FREEMAN: I was Valedictorian of my class and played several sports. I got a partial academic scholarship to OU.

PGATOUR.COM: How many were in your graduating class?

FREEMAN: 16.

PGATOUR.COM: OK, let's leave that statistic out of any discussions about being valedictorian.

FREEMAN: (Laughs) Yeah, but it was a good school with plenty of talented kids. Not just a lot of them.

PGATOUR.COM: You qualified for the TOUR in Q-School and made a pair of cuts early on. How have you been playing lately?

FREEMAN: I'm actually getting better each week, although my scoring isn't matching up. I shot a 68 on Thursday in Memphis and then put up a nice 79 on Friday. I'm hitting the ball fine and starting to get my mental approach right.

PGATOUR.COM: How does one get their mental approach right?

FREEMAN: I don't have a so-called coach so I've really just tried to learn from watching how others approach the game and by reading. Dr. David Cook's book "Golf's Sacred Journey" is a phenomenal read. I have to quit worrying so much about everything that's going on around my round and just focus on my next shot. Easier said than done, but I'm starting to see some good results.

PGATOUR.COM: If you weren't clawing up the money list on TOUR, what would you be doing right now?

FREEMAN: I'm a co-owner in an independent insurance company (The Cole Company in Grove, Okla.). When you're fighting your way through several tours and trying to earn your card, you'd better have a way to make ends meet. This business is perfect. It allowed me to have flexible hours so I could work on my game. Now that I'm on the TOUR, my partners are carrying the load.

PGATOUR.COM: What's next for the Freemans?

FREEMAN: We're looking into buying an RV so the family can travel more with me to tournaments. It's great having them around. I'm lucky to have found Andi (wife of 3 1/2 years) and have our children. I've also had tremendous support from Steve Hudiburg, a person who's funded much of my golf ambitions. Steve even introduced me to Andi.

PGATOUR.COM: Now that's quite a sponsor.