For former ISU golfer Jeremy Lyons, the PGA Tour will have to wait, at least for now.

Last fall, Lyons, who finished a successful career with Iowa State last spring, tried out for the PGA Tour through the three-stage PGA Tour Qualifying School.

“I tried the PGA Tour School and did not do well,” said Lyons.

“There’s three stages, and I didn’t make it out of the first stage.”

But all was not lost for Lyons. He said he is hopeful he can learn from the experience and apply that knowledge next time around.

“I practiced more, obviously. I was out of school at the time and didn’t have a job, so pretty much my job was just practice,” Lyons said of his training habits for the qualifying school. “My mistake was I didn’t play any tournaments for about a month and a half beforehand.

“Basically, I wasn’t tournament-ready. I think I was physically ready, as far as my game goes, at least to make it past the first stage, but, mistakenly, I didn’t play in any tournaments leading up to it. I definitely won’t do that again.”

Jay Horton, ISU men’s golf coach, worked with Lyons during his college career.

“He has a great work ethic; that was always his best attribute,” Horton said. “His work ethic was unbelievable; he was very driven — always knew exactly what he wanted to do.”

Horton, who has played PGA Tour events in the past, says Lyons has the right attitude to take on life as a golfer.

“You have to have the self-motivation,” Horton said.

“There are tons of kids out there with the talent, but you have to want it. You have to be willing to get up earlier than everyone else and just work at it all the time.”

Lyons said, however, that another try for his Tour card will have to wait.

“It’s $4,500 just to try to qualify. It’s a lot of money, which I’m kind of short on now,” Lyons said.

“That’s something that every guy that’s struggling on the Tour is dealing with. Unless I feel 100 percent sure that I can make it through, I’m not going to do it. It puts so much pressure on because of the money you have to put up.”

Although Lyons said he didn’t decide until his sophomore year that turning pro and pursing his Tour card was what he wanted to do, he said golf was always something he was interested in.

“I think, like any kid, they always want to play professional sports. If they’re into sports as a kid, they want to be professional at it, so I kind of always had it in my mind,” Lyons said.

Lyons took up golf at the age of 5 and was playing in his first tournament by the time he was 9.

During his career with the Cyclones, Lyons won three tournaments and finished 11 times in the top 10. He also led the field after one day at the 2002 U.S. Amateur and came within one stroke of qualifying individually for the NCAA Championships last spring.

“Golf can be a frustrating game sometimes, and you’ve just got to keep your head up,” Horton said. “You have to be your own best friend out there sometimes. I mean, I think he missed the cut in three straight tournaments by one stroke, so it can really get frustrating sometimes.”

Lyons is competing on the Orlando-based Hooters Winter Tour. He is living in Naples, Fla., and beginning to work with a swing coach.

“I keep learning so much out here,” Lyons said.

“Up until now, I haven’t had a coach since I turned pro. I worked with a guy here and there after school, but no set swing coach or golf coach of any kind. I realized I can’t really get to the next level if don’t have a swing coach. Hopefully, that will get me to the next level sooner.”

Lyons has been playing two tournaments a month on average, but the Hooters Winter Tour comes to an end this month. Lyons said he is planning to return to the Midwest during the spring to play in several tournaments.

In addition, Lyons said he plans on playing in a few tournaments in the Dakotas and his home state of Wisconsin.

For now, Lyons said, he will just focus on improving his game and gearing up for another run at the PGA Tour.