Gellerman answers questions on a variety of topics.
March 6, 2012
NORMAN, Okla. -- Oklahoma golfer Michael Gellerman is playing a big role for the Sooners this year despite the fact he is just a freshman.
Gellerman has competed in the second most team events this season, behind only All-American Abraham Ancer, and boasts the squad's third-best scoring average with his 72.44 through 18 rounds. The Sterling, Kan., native has posted four top-20 finishes, including a career-high 13th-place showing at the Royal Oaks Intercollegiate in the fall.
The Sooners are off until the Linger Longer Invitational March 23-24 in Greensboro, Ga., so SoonerSports.com caught up with Gellerman to ask him about his freshman experience and several other topics.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Q: What's the biggest difference between being a high school and a collegiate student-athlete?
"They are totally different. In college, it's so much harder because you're so much busier. Classes are a lot harder, all the tutoring, especially as a freshman. We practice way more than high school students do."
Q: Did you expect to have this big of an impact on the program your freshman season?
"I don't know. It's hard to say what my expectations were because I really didn't know. Obviously, everyone is good; it's just a given. I was coming here hoping I would play in a lot of events, and it turns out I played pretty well in spurts and had an alright fall. Hopefully it will be a better spring."
Q: If you could have a piece of a teammate's golf game for yourself, what would it be and who would it belong to?
"My weakness in golf is the short game, everyone knows that. I'd probably take Eduardo Castiello's. He has really soft hands, a great short game and is good putter. It'd be a lot of fun to be able to do some of the things he can do."
Q: What golf club are you most comfortable with and why?
"I wouldn't call it one, but I'm most comfortable hitting my irons in general. Short irons, pitching wedge to seven iron -- that's kind of my strength in my game, my accuracy with those."
Q: What are your thoughts on hosting an NCAA regional this year?
"That's going to be awesome. We got really lucky. For my first year of regionals, it's going to be really good, with the nerves coming with it, to have the home-field advantage, so to speak. So maybe that will shake off some of the nerves. It will be a lot of fun, especially the course out here. It's good because we know where to hit it and where not to hit it. I guess that's good but, could also be bad if you think about it too much."
Q: Talk about the leadership from seniors Ben Klaus and Riley Pumphrey.
"It hasn't been much golf stuff; it's just been about college life and how to take care of things. They've been awesome. Both are incredibly nice guys and would do anything for the team. You can see that and hear it when they talk. It's just been awesome to have their support."
Q: If you could play a round of golf with anyone, who would it be and why?
"I'd probably play with Tiger (Woods) just to watch him, to watch his mannerisms. He's arguably one of the best golfers ever to live, so I think that would be a lot of fun."
Q: Do you have any hobbies outside of golf?
"I used to play basketball in high school. I love basketball. It's given that I don't have the physical part to play, but if I could, I would love to. I just love the sport and always have."
Q: Who were your sports idols growing up?
"Obviously Tiger was huge. Kobe Bryant -- I love watching that guy play. He's a great leader. I just love watching guys lead and kind of take over."
