Hendersonville’s Bryce Lewis beat defending Schooldays champion Cooper Sears in Wednesday’s quarterfinals.
There will be no repeat champions at the 92nd annual Tennessean/Metro Parks Schooldays Golf Tournament.
Bryce Lewis of Hendersonville reads a green during Wednesday’s quarterfinal round of the Schooldays Golf Tournament at McCabe.
Hendersonville’s Bryce Lewis made sure of that.
“I had nothing to lose,” said Lewis, a rising junior at Hendersonville and two-time TSSAA state tournament qualifier.
After securing a come-from-behind 1-up win over Merrol Hyde’s Jonathan Caldwell on Wednesday morning, Lewis pulled off an improbable 2-and-1 quarterfinal win over defending champion Cooper Sears, a rising senior at Mt. Juliet.
Defending champion Cooper Sears suffered a quarterfinal defeat on Wednesday.
“He was supposed to beat me,” said Lewis, who had three birdies and no bogeys in the 17-hole victory. “I just thought I’d go out there, give it my all and I might win, and if I don’t then I don’t.
“I didn’t really feel much pressure — not as much as the first match when I was one down with two to go.”
Lewis’ father, Trey, is one of the state’s top amateur golfers.
Sears, who shot 63 in Tuesday’s qualifying round, claimed a 5-and-4 second-round win over Father Ryan’s Will Brook, but the 17-year-old Vanderbilt commitment’s inability to sink putts ultimately did him in.
“I was hitting the ball great and giving myself great birdie opportunities,” Sears said. “I just couldn’t make putts.”
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FULL RESULTS:
Schooldays golf tournament
Lewis will take on Summit’s Charlie Linde — a 1 up winner in 19 holes over Macon County’s Landon Polston — in Thursday’s 7 a.m. semifinal. Lipscomb Academy’s Paul Swindell and Beech’s Michael Barnard will square off in the 7:08 a.m. semifinal.
Ashley Gilliam, 14, rolled into the girls championship match with convincing victories over Cookeville’s Viola Greenwood (7-and-6) and Ravenwood’s Ann Catherine Blackburn (8-and-6).
Ashley Gilliam of Manchester will face FRA’s Angelina Chan in Thursday’s championship match.
“I was putting really good,” said Gilliam, a Mississippi State commitment who had a 66 in qualifying on Tuesday. “I didn’t miss many putts and didn’t make many mistakes, and when I did I came back with birdies.”
Gilliam’s mother, Jennifer Hailey (1989-91), is one of just two girls to win three straight Schooldays titles.
Gilliam will face Angelina Chan in Thursday’s 9:30 a.m. championship.
“Both of my opponents were very stubborn,” said Chan, who played 35 holes on Wednesday compared to Gilliam’s 24. “Toward the end it was quite difficult because I played so many holes.”
Chan, a rising sophomore at Franklin Road Academy and the reigning TSSAA Division II-A champion, defeated Gilliam’s sister, Coffee County’s Savannah Quick, 1-up and Rossview’s Caroline Caudill 2-and-1.
“I was more like a zombie at the end,” Chan added.
Reach Michael Murphy at 615-259-8262 and on Twitter @Murph_TNsports.