Spring Hill’s Lovette headed to state golf tournament
Published 8:16 am Sunday, May 3, 2026
The fire in Rylee Lovette’s eyes was noticeable right away this past August, and the Spring Hill High School senior used that burning desire to achieve a lofty goal.
The Spring Hill standout, who captured the individual district championship and placed fifth at the regional tournament, earned a spot in the Class 4A UIL State Golf Tournament, set for Monday and Tuesday at Legends Golf Course in Kingsland.
A trip to the big show comes one year after Lovette was in contention for a state berth at regionals before a recently diagnosed condition flared up and cost her a state berth.
“She was real solid for us last year,” Spring Hill coach Elizabeth Gray said. “She won the district championship and had a great first day at regionals, but she had an episode the second day. As the temperature heated up during the day, it started to wear on her physically. She ended up 11th and as the first alternate. She came back in August fired up and determined it was not going to happen again. She just had a different mindset. She did all of the things she needed to do, and things fell into place.”
Lovette was diagnosed with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS), a chronic, often invisible, disorder of the autonomic nervous system. Not a primary heart disease, it is characterized by a rapid heart rate increase (tachycardia) within 10 minutes of standing. It causes severe lightheadedness, fainting, fatigue, and palpitations, primarily affecting women aged 15–50.
“I had just been diagnosed,” Lovette said of last year’s regional tournament episode. “I was still adjusting to medications and learning how to eat right and train better.”
Email newsletter signup
Managing the condition includes focusing on improving the symptoms through lifestyle adjustments and medication.
“I trained a lot this year at the gym and with morning conditioning,”Lovette said. “Also, my mental game is definitely better. I eased up on myself and decided I might as well have fun.”
In September, Lovette had a 77 to win a tournament in Mount Pleasant. She finished second at a tournament in October and third with an 81 at an event at Tempest.
In the spring, she turned in an 80 to finish third at Tempest and had rounds of 75 and 76 at Tempest to win the district championship.
Her two rounds at regionals were also both in the 70s (74 and 79).
“Rylee came in as a freshman, and she was really so green,” Spring Hill coach Michael Gain said. “But, she had a real determination to be great. It (missing out on state) stung her last year, and you could see the fire in her this year to get better and make it to state. She’s a really good role model for the young girls in the program.”
Lovette said she has been working on her short game and chipping leading up to this week’s state tournament.