Kennedy Girls Golf

Lindo aiming to be like Zach

Golfer Ali Lindo’s summer tournament friends took to calling her “the fiery Filipino” – a nod to her heritage, her temperament and pro golfer Suzann Pettersen, aka “the fiery Norwegian,” who piled up six runnerup finishes on the LPGA Tour in 2010.

That’s where the Kennedy junior has landed for much of this season, often tightly bunched with Jefferson senior standout Megan Furnish and Washington sophomore MJ Kamin, with the rest of the field a distance behind.

“I’m definitely at the bottom of those two,” says a modest Lindo, who hasn’t played head-to-head with Furnish but knows Kamin well from summer tournaments. “I love playing with MJ. Megan and MJ are both very serious golfers, which is a problem for me.

"I just can’t be serious. I laugh at myself. I have to relax or it doesn’t work out for me.”

But she has gotten plenty serious about her game in the last year, doing her best to follow in the footsteps of her hero, family friend and fellow Elmcrest Country Club member Zach Johnson, who has notched seven wins on the PGA Tour including the 2007 Masters.

“My dad played a round of golf with Zach’s dad when they were just trying to get Zach started on the tour,” she says. Her father, Brian Lindo, joined the group of Elmcrest friends who pooled their resources to help launch Zach on his professional career.

“My dad still plays with Zach’s dad, and they are a real support system for me,” Lindo says.

Lindo says she met Zach when she was 10 or 11 years old. Watching his ascendancy on the tour as her family attended PGA tournaments around the Midwest spurred her interest in the game.

She had played a little golf – but then she had played everything: soccer, basketball, softball, swimming. In eighth grade she got serious about golf.

“Zach has been my inspiration,” she says. “He’s so consistent. He’s top-5 in putting every year, and putting is where it is. He can be serious, but he’s very relaxed in his game. He has faith that he can do it, and he has a great support system – the whole Elmcrest family.”

Based on her critique of her game, Lindo might have more in common at this point with the most recent Masters champion, Bubba Watson, than with Johnson. Like Watson, she’s a long-ball hitter who can launch a 210-yard drive on a good day, but she struggles to keep her head in the moment.

“My brain goes seven different ways a million miles per hour,” she says. “It’s definitely something I need to work on. I hope to be able to focus more than two seconds someday.”

This past summer, she played in lots of tournaments and worked on her game with Elmcrest pro Larry Gladson, who also helped shape Zach’s game. “I worked a ton on my short game and spent days on the putting green,” she says. “And then working on my mental game, trying not to think too much about bad shots.”

Her summer surge has yielded consistent results this season, as she has garnered mostly top-5 finishes and several top-2's. Away from her Metro adversaries, she has won two quadrangular meets.

“I love winning,” she says. “Being a medalist is a rush that keeps you wanting to play.”

Along with finishing her meets on top, her season-long goal is to qualify for state, a challenge that will elude her if she doesn’t improve her course management skills, she says.

“I need to cut down on stupid mistakes. I like going for the green,” she says with an embarrassed grin. “If I can stay in the low 80s and cut a couple of stupid strokes off, I should be good.”

As she works to eliminate risky shots from her game, Lindo is also nursing a knee injury sustained when she jumped over a set of stairs while participating in her other favorite activity – Kennedy’s “Happiness” show choir.

The humor of the fact that she injured herself through music rather than sports is not lost on Lindo or her coach, Julie Bush, who admitted she was a bit surprised to see Lindo walk into her chemistry class on crutches after the incident.

Lindo aggravated the injury last week and has limped around the course during her most recent meets. Her treatment regimen consists primarily of a series of stretching exercises prescribed by her father, a family practice physician. “It’s getting better,” she says.

Bush counts Lindo as among the five most talented golfers she has coached in her 13 years at Kennedy. “She’s got a lot of potential if we can work on a few things,” she says,
noting that the competition among the Metro’s top trio of golfers has been good for all of them.

“Ali hits very well and has a good swing. She practices a lot and plays in a lot of tournaments. We’re working on making sure we stay focused, working on her mental game and not getting so frustrated on bad holes.”

Lindo’s humor helps in that regard, Bush says. “She’s very funny – always has something funny to say. It’s good to be having fun. If you have a bad shot, you can laugh and get through it.”

Lindo’s other antidote for stress is music, says the fiery, funny Filipino, who often hums or sings her way around the course. “I love music. That’s what makes me happy when I’m having a bad round.”

And she can always fall back on the same close-knit Elmcrest family that got her hero through the rough patches in his career. “When I’m not playing good, Zach’s dad says, ‘Don’t worry. You’re still beating your dad,’” she laughs.

Lindo 10th at Super Meet

Monday was a good day at Ellis Park Golf Course for geese, baby goslings and Megan Furnish.

The geese and their goslings acted like the Mississippi Valley Conference Super Meet was being held for their benefit as they waddled near the ponds and marched onto the course.

Meanwhile, Furnish owned Ellis Park and fired an even-par 72 on the soggy 4,787-yard layout to trim Amy Ihm of Dubuque Wahlert by one shot.

Furnish has been winning meets this spring, but she hadn't been satisfied with all her shots. That changed Monday as the Cedar Rapids Jefferson senior was solid from tee to green.

"I was kind of unhappy with my overall game. There were some areas that were struggling, but today I think it all kind of came together and I felt confident in every area of the game," she said.

"My short game was kind of struggling. My putting ... my 50, 60, 70-yard approach shots. So I've been really practicing hard on those and having drills to work on those areas, so those came together nice."

Furnish, who will play college golf next year at Missouri State, collected two birdies, 14 pars and two bogies.

Furnish tied for first place at the Linn-Mar Invitational last week with an 82 at Hunters Ridge and won the CRANDIC meet at Airport National with a 73 two weeks ago, but she wasn't happy with either of those rounds.

Her even-par 72 Monday was the best score of her life at Ellis Park and came on a cool, gray day with a few puddles on the course from Sunday's rain.

"It gives me a little more confidence, but I can't stop working," she said. "I've got to be out there practicing and making sure my game is up to par."

All 14 Mississippi Valley Conference teams played in the Super Meet. Cedar Falls, the defending state champion, continued to dominate MVC competition and won the meet with a four-player score of 332 for an impressive 30-shot victory over Linn-Mar.

The Xavier Saints got strong rounds from Grace Winker and Maddie Bertsch and finished third in the team standings at 365. Winker fired a 7-over-par 79 to tie for third place in the individual standings and Bertsch shot an 81 to place fifth.

Ali Lindo of Kennedy, bothered by a knee injury, limped home with an 88 to tie Julie Pople of Linn-Mar for 10th place.

The Super Meet counts as 50 percent toward the overall MVC conference title this season. The final round will be played next Monday.

MVC SUPER MEET
At Ellis Park
4,787 yards, Par 72

Team Standings

1. Cedar Falls 332, 2. Linn-Mar 362, 3. Xavier 365, 4. Dubuque Senior 367, 5. Wahlert 381, 6. Iowa City City 388, 7. Iowa City West 391, 8. Jefferson 404, 9. Prairie 407, 10. Kennedy 412, 11. Hempstead 414, 12. Waterloo West 423, 13. Washington 438, 14. Waterloo East (incomplete team).

Top 10 Individuals

1. Megan Furnish, Jefferson       72
2. Amy Ihm, Wahlert                73
3. Grace Winker, Xavier             79
Alison Rolinger, Cedar Falls      79
5. Maddie Bertsch, Xavier          81
6. Taylor Roberts, Cedar Falls     82
7. Megan Brewer, Cedar Falls     85
8. MJ Kamin, Washington          86
Hannah Hagarty, Cedar Falls    86
10. Ali Lindo, Kennedy              88
Julie Pople, Linn-Mar             88

LINN-MAR: Julie Pople 88, Katie Harding 89, CJ Davis 92, Danielle Toy 93, Rachel Thrune 95, Emma Lorenz 100.

XAVIER: Grace Winker 79, Maddie Bertsch 81, Lisa Olberding 101, Morgan DeLong 104, Taylor Wertzberger 105, Kara Zwanzinger 108.

JEFFERSON: Megan Furnish 72, Megan Kibby 109, Marissa Fehlhafer 111, Emily Aukes 112, Sarah Tortora 135, Erin Kibby 141.

PRAIRIE: Emily Machula 99, Konnor Griffith 100, Emily Perrin 101, Kerstin Flugum 107, Alyssa Beisker 111, Jenna Nicolls 118.

KENNEDY: Ali Lindo 88, Sadie Schultz 106, Hannah Harberts 108, Raemi Chavez 110, Amanda Wiedemeier 126, Breanna Osterkamp 132.

WASHINGTON: MJ Kamin 86, Kandis O'Donnell 101, Sophia Ochs 125, Elizabeth Stanczyk 126, Katherine Wohlers 140, Hannah Bott 150.

Lindo 2nd at Waterloo West quad

WATERLOO -- Kennedy's Ali Lindo shot a 43 to finish second in the medalist race, but Iowa City West won a taut contest at the Waterloo West quadrangular Thursday afternoon at Irv Warren golf course.

West finished with a 197 score. Waterloo West was second at 200, followed by Prairie at 202 and Kennedy at 207.

West's Tiffany danger was medalist with a 42, one shot ahead of Lindo. Prairie's Kerstin Flugum was third with a 45.

Teams -- 1. Iowa City West 197, 2. Waterloo West 200, 3. Prairie 202, 4. Kennedy 207

IOWA CITY WEST (197): Tiffany Danger 42, Madyson Boardman 50, Sarah Hellem 50, Olivia Ewing 55

WATERLOO WEST (200): Lauren Denning 47, Kayleigh Ubben 48, Lucy Dahl 49, Brandi Rock 56

PRAIRIE (202): Kerstin Flugum 45, Alyssa Beisker 49, Emily Perrin 50, Konnor Griffith 58, Sammie Farmer 61, Jenna Nicolls 63

KENNEDY (207): Ali Lindo 43, Amanda Wiedemeier 53, Hannah Harberts 55, Raemi Chavez 56, Abby Hill 63, Hannah Lunstrum 73

Lindo limps to 83 at Hunters Ridge

Ali Lindo admits she's stubborn.

A lot of golfers would have retired for the day after aggravating a painful knee injury in the middle of their round, but Lindo stayed on the course and limped through the final 11 holes of the Linn-Mar Invitational at Hunters Ridge Golf Course Tuesday in Marion.

Remarkably, the Cedar Rapids Kennedy junior shot an 11-over-par 83 to finish only one shot behind the leaders on a warm, sunny day.

Lindo said she never thought about quitting.

"No. I don't like quitting," she said emphatically, sitting in the clubhouse with an icebag on her right knee. "I had to do that over the summer in a tournament because I got diagnosed with asthma or some kind of breathing disorder, and I just don't like walking off courses."

See? Stubborn.

"Yeah, I'm stubborn in a lot of ways," she said. "That's definitely one of them."

Cedar Rapids Jefferson senior Megan Furnish tied Taylor Roberts and Megan Brewer of Cedar Falls for medalist honors with an 82, but Furnish was not happy with her round. "Not so good," she said. "I played terrible."

Furnish won medalist honors at the CRANDIC meet last week and is 2-for-2 this season at the top of the leaderboard in major events.

Lindo originally hurt her knee in December while participating in show choir at Kennedy. "I was jumping over a box of stairs and I slipped," she said. "I don't know what I did. Neither do the doctors, because they told me nothing was wrong. But if it's hurting, I'm going to go with something's wrong."

Lindo was leaving the seventh green Tuesday when she aggravated the injury.

"I was going down the hill and I slipped, which kind of restarted the pain," she said. "So now my knee hurts and I need to ice it before it swells up again."

She said the knee has bothered her ever since she got hurt in show choir. "Yeah, pretty much," she said. "Whenever I walk too much."

High school golfers can ride a cart between holes, but otherwise they have to walk the course. Hunters Ridge measures 5,090 yards for the women from the gold tees, so she walked roughly two miles Tuesday on the rolling course after aggravating the knee injury.

"I didn't start limping until the back-9, because it started to hurt a ton more," she said. "I didn't have any ice when we came around the turn (after nine holes), so it got worse as the holes went on."

Lindo described a stabbing, throbbing pain. "A little bit of both," she said. "It stabs in the back (of the knee) and then throbs if I don't put ice on it after a while."

Doctors have taken an MRI, but found nothing wrong. Still, it hurts.

"I've been taking Advil pretty much daily to keep the pain away, and I didn't have any in my bag today," she said. "I'll be prepared from now on."

Lindo planned to seek expert advice when she got home. "I'll probably just talk to my dad, because he's a doctor," she said. "I'll just talk to him and see if he thinks anything is wrong. I'll probably just end up icing it for a couple of more weeks."

Lindo finished third at the CRANDIC meet last week with a 75 at Airport National and tied for fourth Tuesday with MJ Kamin of Washington with her 83. She said she's improved significantly from last season when she shot mostly in the high-80's to mid-90's.

"Last summer I played in tons of tournaments," she said.

Lindo was satisfied with her 83, considering she played half the round in pain.

"I could have shot a lot worse. I could have shot better," she said philosophically. "I was trying not to put too much pressure on it when I was walking between holes or between shots, because I wanted to be able to put pressure on it when I actually swung."

The Cedar Falls Tigers, who won the Class 4A state title last year, ran away with the team championship Tuesday with a four-girl score of 335. The Linn-Mar Lions, who placed eighth at the state meet in 2011, finished second at 379. Emma Lorenz led the Lions with a 91.

LINN-MAR INVITATIONAL
At Hunters Ridge
5,090 yards, Par-72

Team Standings

1. Cedar Falls 335, 2. Linn-Mar Black 379, 3. North Scott 419, 4. Prairie 424, 5. Jefferson 428, 6. Waterloo West 437, 7. Kennedy 438, 8. Anamosa 438, 9. Linn-Mar Red 452, 10. Marion 453, 11. Clinton 464, 12. Washington 468.

Top 10 Individuals

1. Megan Furnish, Jefferson,            82
Taylor Roberts, Cedar Falls            82
Megan Brewer, Cedar Falls            82
4. Ali Lindo, Kennedy                     83
MJ Kamin, Washington                83
6. Allison Rolinger, Cedar Falls          84
7. Hannah Hagarty, Cedar Falls        87
8. Lauren Denning, Waterloo West  89
9. Emma Lorenz, Linn-Mar              91
10. Taylor Wade, Marion               92

LINN-MAR BLACK: Emma Lorenz 91, Julie Pople 94, CJ Davis 97, Lauren Coughlin 97, Rachel Thrune 98, Danielle Toy 101.

PRAIRIE: Kerstin Flugum 102, Alyssa Beisker 103, Emily Perrin 105, Konnor Griffith 114, Addy Shaw 121.

JEFFERSON: Megan Furnish 82, Emily Aukes 100, Sarah Tortora 121, Megan Kibby 125, Sammy Seeman 143.

KENNEDY: Ali Lindo 83, Raemi Chavez 115, Sadie Schultz 118, Hannah Harberts 122, Amanda Wiedemeier 124, Breanna Osterkamp 134.

LINN-MAR RED: Taylor Dalecky 102, Alex Dunn 112, Georgia Kolf 119, Jade Hall 119, Kristin Eiles 121, Amanda Shannon 127.

MARION: Taylor Wade 92, Ashley Reed 99, Ashley Ohl 130, Kaitie Connelly 132, Haley Shaffer 172.

WASHINGTON: MJ Kamin 83, Kandis O'Donnell 107, Elizabeth Stanczyk 133, Anna Rohde 145, Kate Nash 148.