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How Carter Lomax, Lyla Payne rallied for Schooldays Golf Tournament championships

Carter Lomax and Lyla Payne flew under the radar in the 102nd Tennessean/Metro Parks Schooldays Golf Tournament on Brandt Snedeker's Tour before taking off and sailing to wins respectively in the boys and girls championships on June 5.

Lomax, from Gallatin, defeated Wil Huddleston from Maryville, 4 and 3 in the boys match play championship at McCabe Course, while Payne from Clarksville claimed a 2 and 1 win over Samantha Strothers of El Cajon, California, in the girls championship.

Huddleston and Strothers were the stars of the tournament through the first two days. Huddleston was the co-medalist in the qualifying round on June 3 and then easily knocked out the Nos. 15, 11 and 7.

Strothers stepped into the spotlight early with her long drives. She averaged 275 yards off the tee and had several drives of more than 300 yards.

But it was Lomax and Payne who stepped up when it mattered most and won the longest continuously running golf tournament in the state.

"I don't think I got anyone's attention at the start because I only qualified ninth (at 5 over)," said Lomax, who attends Liberty Creek. "I tried to change my mentality in this tournament. I was more calm and laid back. Usually, I'm more determined and want to get things done. By changing my mentality, it paid off."

Lomax did not breeze through his early match-play rounds, easing past Cannon Wise 2 and 1 in the first round, Colin Mitchell 2 and 1 in the quarterfinals, and Cillian Carmack 3 and 2 in the semifinals.

But he started strong in the championship, taking a two-hole lead against Huddleston by winning Nos. 2 and 3. After Huddleston closed the gap to one by winning 9, Lomax won 11 and 12 to go 3-up.

Huddleston hung tough by winning 13 before Lomax closed him out by winning 14 and 15. Lomax made a 5-foot put for par on 15, and Huddleston 3-putted.

"My putting got better after the qualifying round, and I would say that is what helped me win more than anything," Lomax said. "My putting was more consistent, and I got more confident in it."

It was Lomax's fourth time playing in the Schooldays and his first time advancing to match play.

"I really wish I would have gotten some more birdies; I kind of fell short and couldn't get anything going on the back nine," Huddleston said. "But (Lomax) played amazing and hats off to him."

In the girls championship, Payne found herself 40-50 yards behind Strothers off nearly every tee. But she did not allow that to affect her confidence. She continually made up for her lack of distance off the tee by outplaying Strothers with her short game.

Payne built a three-hole lead heading to No. 12. Strothers got it back to two by winning 14, but they halved the next three holes, giving Payne the victory.

"My coach (Jeff Vaughn) gave me my confidence by telling me, 'No matter what happens, you're still a good player,' " Payne said. "He told me my drivers were good enough to win as long as I hit them straight. I won three straight holes (9, 10 and 11) by just telling myself that I had to show my coach and my family that I worked so hard for this and I was going to get it done.'"

George Armstrong wins Schooldays 12-14, division

George Armstrong of Franklin recovered from an 11 over qualifying round, which made him the last seed at No. 8, to win the boys 12-14 division championship.

Armstrong upset No. 1 seed Aubrey Travis of Nashville in the match play quarterfinals 4 and 3 and 5 seed Ethan Huang of Nolensville 3 and 2 in the semifinals.

Armstrong faced 2-seed Jackson Scott of Franklin in the finals, and they went 20 holes before Armstrong made a birdie to win 1-up.

For the complete results, visit snedstour.

Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on X @MikeOrganWriter.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Lyla Payne, Carter Lomax win Schooldays Golf Tournament titles

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