Second place Lambert, with players Nick Schwendiman, Luke Cusick, Myles Jones, Wesley Hu, Kyle Stine, Ryan Roopnarine and Levi Watson.

TIFTON — Lambert High School trailed Milton by nine shots going into the final round of the GHSA Class 7A boys golf state tournament at Spring Hill Country Club. The Longhorns initially looked like they could possibly make up enough lost ground to take the title, but Milton’s final two scores were the two best of the tournament and the Eagles won the championship, 598 to 614.

The final 24 golfers on the course were six each from each of Monday’s top four teams.

Lambert’s first two counting scores were a 77 by Wesley Hu and a 76 from Luke Cusick. Milton brought in a 78 from Mason Fundingsland and a 75 from Will Jones. The deficit was the same; it was going to come down to the final two groups.

Nick Schwendiman improved on his Monday score by four shots, 78 to 74, but Rahul Rajendran, playing in the same foursome, better his lot by five. Not only that, Rajendran finished at 71, the only golfer on either day to shoot below par.

Finally, in the last group, Longhorn Myles Jones shot 76. Milton’s Craig Long brought in a 72, one of only two par scores on Tuesday.

In presenting the first place trophy to Milton, Tift County boys golf coach and tournament director Caleb Rice said the total was “dang awesome.” That wasn’t the only honor for the Eagles.

Long was low medalist with a two-day total of 145. Second place in that department went to Rajendran at 147.

West Forsyth was third in team scores at 639. Third individually went to one of the individuals who qualified without their entire team; Connor MacMillan of Woodstock finished at 148. His 72 was the other par on the course. MacMillan was long the clubhouse leader, until Milton’s final two players brought in their scorecards.

The remainder of team scores were: Gainesville (643), Walton (648), Lowndes (653), Roswell (654), North Gwinnett (655), Mill Creek (657), Harrison (661), Tift County (670) and Marietta (690).

Lowndes was 17 strokes better Tuesday with a 318. A large part of that was a 17-stroke improvement from Ethan Kolisz, from a 94 to a 77.

Host Tift was led on the second day by an 81 from Bo Carpenter. Jake Hasty was nine shots better than his Monday performance and his 84 was second on the team Tuesday.

Lambert finished behind Milton, but the second place was hard-earned. Hu played part of the course sans socks and shoes. He had stepped into mud on one hole and discarded the footwear. The Longhorns were assisted by Marc Beach, former Blue Devils golf coach.

Rice congratulated all the teams present for “being here,” referring to the challenges presented during the school year by COVID-19. The 2020 tournaments were canceled because of coronavirus.

Rice had many thanks for helping make the tournament possible. First and foremost is Spring Hill Country Club and its course pro, Kris Mahoney. He thanked the board and staff of Spring Hill, as well as several officials at Tift County Schools, including Superintendent Adam Hathaway, TCHS Principal Chad Stone, retiring athletic director Rusty Smith, incoming athletic director Chris Martin, volunteers at the course and Olive Garden for food.