Ainsley Moore gets to defend title now that Schooldays is part of the Sneds Tour

The Tennessean/Metro Parks Schooldays Golf Tournament has joined the Sneds Golf Tour for its 100th anniversary and the timing could not be better for Ainsley Moore.

With the move to the Sneds Tour, the popular Junior Golf Tour of the Tennessee Golf Foundation backed by PGA pro and Nashville native Brandt Snedeker, the age limit increased from 17 to 18. That allowed Moore, the defending girls champion and a recent University School of Nashville graduate, an additional year to play in the historic tournament and defend her title.

The tournament is June 5-7 at McCabe Golf Course. It is among the longest-running tournaments in the state and will become the first match play event on the Sneds Tour, which runs through Nov. 17.

"I'm super excited that the age limit was raised because it's a great opportunity for people like me still wanting to compete before college and get a lot of rounds in," said Moore, who signed a golf scholarship at Belmont. "Plus, it's just a great tournament. It's super fun and I'm so happy they decided to increase the age limit."

The 2023 boys champion Laird Williams, 17, opted to play in a Tennessee Junior-Amateur qualifier on June 5 at GreyStone Country Club and will not defend his title.

Moore was recovering from COVID in 2022 and failed to make it to match play after firing an 82 in the qualifying round. Last year she improved her qualifying round by 15 strokes (1-under par 67) and was the medalist.

She rode that momentum into match play where she defeated Mattie Goad 5 and 3 in the championship.

It was Moore's first match play tournament.

"I remember last year I was only focusing on myself," Moore said. "To a certain degree I was trying to focus a bit on what my opponent was doing just so I knew where I was at. But mostly I was just focusing on the shot I was hitting and not on the scores. I was just really trying to have a fun time because that's really all that matters."

Still, now that she has a bit of match play experience Moore said she may attempt to play psychological games with her opponent this year if she qualifies again for match play.

"Yeah, I might go in with some kind of strategy this year," she said. "Like whatever they hit it might impact what kind of shot I hit. That's something I've got to think about. Honestly, that might be more fun."

Moore has the opportunity to become the ninth player to win multiple Schooldays titles since the girls were added to the field in 1983. She can become the first back-to-back winner since Ashley Gilliam won three consecutive years from 2016-18.

Registration for the Schooldays is approaching 100 players, which is more than twice the size of last year's field. It is a free tournament. Anyone interested in signing up should visit snedstour.org/membership.

If his schedule permits Snedeker will be at the tournament on the final day to present trophies to the winners.

Hot rod tour making stop at Nashville Superspeedway

The Ally 400 NASCAR Cup Series race returns to Nashville Superspeedway on June 30, but before that the Hot Rod Power Tour car show rolls into the facility June 11. The tour will stop at Beech Bend Raceway Park in Bowling, Kentucky on June 10.

The 30-year-old tour bills itself as American's largest traveling car show with more than 6,000 cars and trucks of all years, makes and models.

For more information bit.ly/3K3cbIR.

Fans can nominate Tennessee Tech hall of famers

The deadline for nominations for the Tennessee Tech Sports Hall of Fame is June 30. Each nomination remains active for a period of three years.

Fans can submit nominations through the hall of fame online form at bit.ly/4dGrZ1E or by contacting Mandy Thatcher at 931-372-3949 or at amiller@tntech.edu.

The hall of fame class for 2024 will be inducted as part of the Golden Eagles football homecoming weekend Nov. 1-2. Tech plays Lindenwood on Nov. 2.

If you have an item for Midstate Chatter contact Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on X @MikeOrganWriter

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Ainsley Moore will defend Schooldays Golf Tournament title