Savannah Golf Championship wraps up

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) -A new Savannah Golf Champion was crowned Sunday afternoon at the Landing’s Club.

Battling a crowded leaderboard, Saturday’s leader Evan Harmeling emerged victorious for his first Korn Ferry Tour title, winning in a play-off.

“I think I did a good job of staying hungry," said Harmeling. "I came out attacking, and not definitely wasn’t feeling comfortable with the one-shot lead here.”

He fell back, and Kevin Dougherty took control for most of Sunday’s round, but after a birdie on the first playoff hole, Harmeling picked up his first Korn Ferry Tour win and the seersucker jacket.

He said he enjoyed his time in Savannah.

“It’s a cool place," Harmeling said. "Everyones been really, really nice down here and very, very welcoming at the course. The Landings and the people here, I mean this course is in amazing shape, I mean, yeah, I’m looking forward to coming back.”

Harmeling finished at 21 under par, shooting a 69 Sunday to become the third Savannah Golf Championship in his rookie season.

Though tickets weren’t sold for this year’s tournament, there were still plenty of spectators throughout the course.

Some 200 volunteers and those who live at the Landings Club made their way over to the Deer Creek Course to take in the fourth and final round of action this afternoon.

Harmeling said after weeks of playing on empty courses, it was nice to be able to play for fans and put on a show.

Despite the event not being open to the public this year, those inside say they still take a lot of pride in hosting this event.

“Our whole community really supports the golf tournament," said fan Henry Policinski. "The volunteerism out here is fantastic. We look at it as a way of giving back to golf. We have a lot of golfers out here, we play it virtually every day.”

“We’re proud of it," said fan Jerry Haggerty. "We’re proud to offer that hospitality to the tour.”

An event for the volunteers is being held and the 2021 event is right around the corner, as it is normally played in the spring.