Lumino seven strokes better Friday

CEDAR FALLS – Fort Madison junior Kylie Lumino smiled infrequently as she moved around the 18-hole Pheasant Ridge Golf Course in Cedar Falls Thursday morning.
But she had a wide smile as she picked her ball out of the cup on the par 4 13^th hole where she sank a birdie putt from about 20 feet, her first and only birdie of the two-day IGHSAU Class 3A State Golf Tournament.
Thursday, Lumino finished with a 20-over 92, good enough for 49^th place out of the field of 65 girls. On Friday, she cut a full seven strokes off Thursday’s score for an 85 and moved up 15 places in the field to finish as the 34^th best 3A girl golfer in the state.
Lumino had eight double bogeys in Thursday’s round and cut that to just one on Friday. She didn’t have any birdies on Friday, but had seven pars and 10 bogeys.
After Thursday’s round, Lumino was disappointed in her play and said people were expecting more. Her 81 that qualified her for the state meet exceeded expectations and the realization of being the first girl in close to 20 years to qualify for the tournament from Fort Madison, set in quickly.
“That was my best score of the year. I was just having a lot of fun at regionals and wasn’t thinking too much. Today I was just really nervous and got in my head a little. There, I would just flush it and move on to the next hole,” Lumino said Thursday.
“But this feels good. I feel proud of myself, and I know people gave me a lot of praise, but inside it’s just like, when you do bad it doesn’t feel so good. I feel like I did bad.”
She then said her goal for Friday was simply to play better than she did Thursday. Her 85, which was just four shots from her season’s best, accomplished that goal Friday.

The open design of Pheasant Ridge, with wide fairways and shorter par 3s, fit well with Lumino’s style of play.
“It was fun. It was a very open course, and I play better when it’s flat and wide. The greens were very tough. I haven’t experienced greens like that all season. The pin placements were very tough, and always on a hill or slope. But, overall, I had fun.”
She said she took up golf just two years ago.
Lumino was in the fairway 70% of the time and had reached greens in regulation about 60% of the time. Toward the final four holes or so her drives found the right rough, but she was able to get back most of the time, other than catching a tree on Hole No. 15 where she settled for a double.
She said she discussed strategy with head coach Janelle Cresswell and they wanted to try to keep the ball in front of the pin, but about five holes in, they changed to being more aggressive and went pin hunting.  Lumino started Thursday on the par-5 Hole No. 17.
“At the beginning I was just a little nervous, but toward the middle when I started the the back nine, I definitely shanked a couple balls. But I can scramble well on the open course where there’s an open shot.
“I just gotta flush today and focus on tomorrow."
Lumino is a three-sport athlete participating in softball, volleyball, and golf.
Lumino and classmate Rowan Benda are scheduled to compete in the state co-ed meet next month.