Laird Williams and Ainsley Moore, two players who dealt with tough breaks in the 2022 Tennessean/Metro Parks Schooldays golf tournament, flipped the script Friday on their way to winning the boys and girls 2023 titles respectively.
Williams, 16, was the 2022 low qualifier and advanced to the match play quarterfinals at the McCabe Course. He missed out on taking the eventual 2022 champion Lane Walton into a playoff after missing a three-foot putt on 18.
It was a short putt again that decided Friday’s rematch, but this time it was Walton who missed from about three feet on 18 leading to a 1-up win for Williams.
Moore, 17, didn’t even qualify for match play last year after struggling to make it through the first day. She lacked strength after suffering from COVID and fired an 82 in the qualifying round.
She improved her qualifying round this year by 15 strokes (1-under par 67), was the medalist and rode that momentum to the title. She defeated Mattie Goad 5 and 3 in the championship.
It was the 98th playing and 99th year for the Schooldays, which will become part of Brandt Snedeker’s Sneds Tour in 2024.
“I tried not to think about last year’s round (against Walton),” said Williams, a rising junior at Page. “But it was just like last year because I was ready for a playoff. Then seeing (Walton’s) putt lip out, my heart dropped. I don’t really think it hit me that I had won until I was walking off the green. “
Williams had won a playoff earlier in the day in the quarterfinals over Landon Wallace on the 19th hole. He then defeated Ace Hogg 4-3 in the semifinals.
Walton, an Old Hickory native, returned to the finals by beating 2021 champion Carter Stroup, 16, 2-up in the semifinals.
In the finals Walton trailed by three holes on the front nine before rallying by winning Nos. 15, 16 and 17.
It was his putter which helped Walton square the lot before ultimately failing him on the last hole.
“I birdied a couple of holes back-to-back and finished pretty well by making a lot of 20-plus footers,” Walton said. “I did the most I could to get back and just didn’t finish the way I wanted to. That last putt was uphill. It swung a little too much, more than I thought it would. The greens are a little jacked up and I guess it hit a divot or something. It didn’t roll smooth but it’s ok. It happens.”
Williams, Walton, who is from Old Hickory, and Stroup, who is from Greenbrier, will return next year meaning the tournament for one of the few times ever will have three former champions in the boys field.
Because of last year’s miserable experience Moore, a rising senior at University School of Nashville, almost did not play in the tournament.
After registering she withdrew to enter the Tennessee Junior Amateur. Two days later she withdrew from that tournament and re-entered the Schooldays since spots were still available.
“I’m glad it worked out the way it did because I’m sure I had more fun playing in this tournament than I would have the other,” Moore said. “There was a lot of good competition here but I thought from the start I had a chance to win it. Anyone could have won it. Rachel Waters, who I beat in the first match (Friday), was playing great and Mattie played great also. It was super hard to get the win.”
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Moore won holes 1, 3, 6 and 8 and Goad won 9. Moore then won every hole on the back nine before closing Goad out.
She wanted to end the match as soon as possible because of the extreme heat with temperatures reaching the mid-90s.
“I told my parents I really wanted to win it before 18 because it was so hot,” Moore said.
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Goad, 16, who is from Lafayette, won No. 9 by making a long putt but couldn’t contend with Moore’s strong play off the tee.
“She hits every fairway and her short game is really good,” Goad said. “It’s really tough when your opponent is doing that and you’re not.”
Brayden Bennett, 13, won the boys 12-13 division by defeating Greyson Brasfield 7 and 6. Bennett won the first five holes.
Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on Twitter @MikeOrganWriter.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Williams and Moore overcome setbacks in 2022 to win 2023 Schooldays