Overland Park golfers contend at Kansas City Amateur

Although Zac Dittmer won his second straight Kansas City Amateur Championship golf title, Alex Higgs of Overland Park made a strong charge on Sunday during the final round at Shoal Creek Golf Course.

Higgs’ round of 66 — the second best of the three-round tournament — helped push him close to lead, but his 6-under finish just left him close.

But Higgs, a college golfer at SMU in Dallas, still hit it well throughout the day and he made more putts than he had previously in the weekend.

“I just tried to make as many birdies as I could and I did all right, I thought,” Higgs said.

Higgs also credited better iron play and more intense focus on the tee for him to be in position to shoot for the lead.

Higgs also said he’d played the Shoal Creek course for the US Amateur qualifier last year, so he was very comfortable with the course and its layout.

Higgs also got some advice from his older brother, former teammate at SMU and now professional golfer Harry Higgs.

The two discussed his second round and looked at some things to work on.

“We had a little talk after the round. I was kind of acting a little like a child out there,” Higgs said. “He gets on me for that and I get on him, and vice versa.”

This weekend also gave Higgs some confidence that he’ll be able to shoot a low round if needed in other tournaments.

“I put the ball where I need to and put it in good spots and give myself a chance,” he said.

UMKC golfer Cameron Wiltse, an Overland Park native, was the only other player to have a cumulative score under par. He finished 2-under with a score of 211. His third-round score ended up at 70.

Nick Sobba and Park Ulrich rounded out the top five, ending at 2-over par.

This story was originally published July 15, 2014 at 3:08 PM with the headline "Overland Park golfers contend at Kansas City Amateur."