KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Two local PGA golfers battled mother nature on Mother's Day.
Sterling, Kansas, native Michael Gellerman outlasted Overland Park native Harry Higgs to win the 2019 KC Golf Classic at Blue Hills Country Club in South Kansas City.
Gellerman (-11), finished just one stroke ahead of Higgs (-10), and Nelson Ledesma, who both finished the tournament in a two-way tie for second place.
"It's awesome obviously to win anywhere," Gellerman said. "But, I mean, to do it (close to home) is really really cool surrounded by, you know, my parents and my mom on Mother's Day. My fiance (is also here) and all of my friends. It's just been really really fun."
Higgs, who attended Blue Valley North and SMU, had a fantastic third shot on the 18th hole. Higgs hit the flag, allowing the ball to fall within a few feet of the cup. Higgs missed a golden opportunity to sink the closing birdie putt and tie Gellerman at -11, which would have forced a two-man playoff. It also cost the Overland Park native an opportunity to win his first PGA Web.com tour event.
Despite not winning, Higgs was still pleased with his effort and being able to play in front of the hometown crowd.
"To do it here was great," Higgs said. "I was really happy with kind of how I handled myself. I've done this before and, you know, we've played in front of home. And, I just, you kind of get irritated with all that goes on, all the moving and shaking throughout the week. (But,) I found a way to enjoy it."
The PGA Tour Web.com event had three separate rain delays. The course was inundated with torrential rain and occasional hail, all of which made it more challenging for the golfers. Despite the terrible conditions, four of the top five finishers all shot under par in the final round on Sunday.
"As you all know, as everyone knows, we can't control the weather," Gellerman said. "I just tried to think about it as, it's gonna happen regardless if I'm winning, or in 50th (place) or already flying to the next event you know. So, I couldn't control it. It was my job to just go out there and do the best that I could when I got back out there."
