Freeman reviews year on PGA Tour

June 19, 2009 01:17 am

— By Jim Henry
jhenry@joplinglobe.com
MIAMI, Okla. — On his first year on the PGA Tour, Cody Freeman said it wasn’t one or two particular things that kept him from having more success last year.
“It’s more of a trust in my own game,” he said. “I didn’t trust myself enough. You start getting out there under the microscope and the big city lights, you feel pretty small at times. You need to stick with what you do and the way you do it. I didn’t do that well enough.”
Freeman, who lived in northeast Oklahoma before moving to Edmond last year, shot a 2-under-par 70 in Thursday’s opening round of the Buffalo Run Casino Classic at Peoria Ridge Golf Course.
Freeman’s round started with a double-bogey on the par-5 10th hole after hitting a ball out of bounds. He made the turn at 2-over but came back with a 32 on the front nine with birdies on Nos. 1, 5, 8 and 9.
“It was a rough start, but I played pretty solid golf in the middle and then birdied my last two holes,” he said. “Finishing off with about a 40-footer on the last hole, that will make lunch taste a little better.”
He’s playing this week’s NGA Hooters Tour event on a sponsor’s exemption.
“Since I lived in Grove and around this area for a few years, I like to call this my home course when I’m here,” Freeman said. “Chief Froman was nice enough to offer me a sponsor’s invite and let me play here.”
Freeman has been playing much of the last two months on the Adams Tour around Texas and Louisiana.
“I’ve been chasing a few (Monday) qualifiers,” he said. “Lately I’ve been playing well, just haven’t played quite well enough. I’m kind of one swing away right now.
“I’ve been finishing 10th to 20th about every week (on the Adams Tour). I still haven’t put four rounds together and got up there for a top-5 yet. I’m putting a lot of good rounds together, just not four in a row.”
Freeman earned his 2008 PGA Tour card with a strong performance in the tour’s demanding Q school. He made the cut in six of 26 tournaments, with a high finish of 45th in the Viking Classic in Madison, Miss. He averaged 72.52 per round and earned $68,673, not enough to retain his card.
“That (PGA Tour) is like heaven for a golfer,” he said. “That’s the place that we all want to be.
“If I look at it just lifestyle, it was great. I got to take my family, my wife and my two boys, all around the country to some beautiful places. We have some wonderful memories. I didn’t play well enough, but I learned a lot and I know more what it’s going to take for me to be successful at that level.”
Asked to select a favorite course, “Being able to be at Pebble Beach, that was a lot of fun,” Freeman said. “That’s one golf course that you can’t find anywhere. That is a pretty good memory. Obviously there are a lot of great golf courses out there, but more it’s the good times and good memories with my wife and two boys.
“The way I look at it, if I get another opportunity, I’ll be that much better prepared and should have more success than I did last year.”
The biggest thing he learned last year?
“Really the guys aren’t that much better,” he said. “From this level to that level, they are not that much better. You have to take advantage of the weeks when you’re playing well. Everyone is going to have bad weeks. Everyone is going to miss cuts, have bad rounds. As long as you take advantage of the weeks you’re playing well, that’s all that matters.”
Freeman’s plans for this year include another journey through Q school in an attempt to return to the big tour.
“It’s just a matter of playing well at the right time,” he said. “When Q school comes around, you need to be ready to go mentally more than anything. If you’re mentally prepared, then your game should follow suit.”

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