Fresh off a strong performance at the U.S. Amateur tournament in August along with being named the Iowa Golf Association Amateur of the Year on Wednesday, ISU golfer Jeremy Lyons is off to a fast start in the fall season.

Lyons’ goal for this season is to win three tournaments, and he’s already got one win under his belt – he won the Fairway Club Invitational in Lincoln, Neb. earlier this month.

The junior was two strokes back after day one, but finished the tournament with a 1-under-par 141 (70-71).

“I was focused during that tournament,” Lyons said. “I really didn’t do anything special. I stayed away from any mistakes and played a good solid round of golf.”

It’s not like Lyons has been short on practice time, though.

His golf experience started at age five when his dad introduced him to the game in his hometown of Glenwood City, Wis.

“My dad brought me to the course on weekends,” Lyons said. “It was probably at age eight or nine that I’d go out and start playing. I just loved it. I couldn’t get enough of it and I still can’t.”

Lyons, junior in marketing, said he played a lot of golf during his younger years. He also competed with his older brother, Brian.

“I played with my brother a lot too when I was young,” the younger Lyons said. “He taught me a lot. I always wanted to beat him and he kept pushing me to try to beat him at times.”

With Glenwood City’s population hovering around 1,000, the local high school didn’t have a boys’ golf team until Brian took it upon himself.

“They kind of started the program up since my brother was a good player and some people were interested in the game,” Lyons said. “They hadn’t had a golf team in probably 15 years [before] my brother was a freshman.

“He got it started. By the time I was a senior in high school, there was a lot of people going out for golf.”

Lyons won three individual state titles in high school. He said his sophomore year was the toughest he had as a prep standout. “I really didn’t expect to win that year,” Lyons said. “There was a couple of good players in my division that year. My next two years were easier, because the competition wasn’t there.”

In high school, Lyons wasn’t recruited very much by Iowa State – until he put his foot in the door.

“Jamie Bermel was the coach at that time. I called him and told him that I was still available,” Lyons said. “He thought I was recruited and signed already, but I wasn’t. He was happy to hear that I wasn’t and he offered me to a scholarship to come here.”

During his freshman season with the Cyclones, Lyons struggled. He averaged about 77, he said. “It was a big struggle. I made a lot of swing changes,” Lyons said. “It really wasn’t a good season. I maybe missed five or six of the tournaments since I wasn’t playing well.”

After his freshman season, Lyons decided to redshirt the next season mainly due to his swing change.

“I really needed time to work that area, also to concentrate on school, getting my swing down and getting ready for the next year,” he said.”

ISU men’s golf coach Jay Horton was Lyons’ coach his freshman season.

“He was always mature at the golf course,” Horton said. “He had a great short game, but his swing wasn’t really that great; … credit to his hard work with PGA professional Chris Winkel of Des Moines. With his hard work, he has become a great ball striker.”

Lyons said that last year’s fall season was decent but the spring season wasn’t, despite having a good performance at the Southwest Missouri State Intercollegiate tournament in Branson, Mo.

Last month, Lyons qualified for match play in the U.S. Amateur tournament in Michigan. He said playing in the event was a great experience. “It was a big accomplishment. There were 312 players that qualified and 64 made it to match play,” Lyons said. “I made the top 64. I lost my first match two to one.”

The 2002 fall season is still young, as the team has only had one tournament, but Lyons said the team is hungry to compete in the Big 12 Conference.

“We finished second in the tournament out of 13 teams, so we played well,” he said. “I think we finished maybe seventh or eighth at the same tournament last year. We’re a better team than last year and a little bit more experienced. We [would] like to finish in the top 25 this year, and that’s a reasonable goal.”

As far as individual goals, Lyons wants to win three tournaments this year and break the school record for lowest score.

Horton said that Lyons is solid in all aspects of the game. “The strength of his game is how hard he works at it,” he said.

After competing as a student-athlete at Iowa State, Lyons hopes to play professional golf.

“That’s what these next two years are for,” Lyons said. “To get prepared for the professional level.”