Eric Steger’s initial intention heading to the E-Z-GO
Indianapolis Open presented by TLC was just to get in some competitive practice
before competing as an individual at the NCAA Regionals at Wolf Run this coming
Thursday. “I took a trip last week down to Florida and didn’t play any golf,”
said Steger. “I played in this to get some golf in before Regionals. I expected
to compete, but I played better than I thought I would. Now I have a good
feeling going into Thursday.”
He also played better – at least seven shots better – than
the rest of the field. His rounds of 68-69=137 made him the only player to
finish under par. Professionals Chad Ayres and Dave Pugh shared second place by
finishing at even par for the tournament. “Having a two shot cushion heading
into today was nice, but these guys are good enough that two shots can be made
up easily,” explained Steger. “But it was colder today and played tougher.” The
cold, wind and rain made it a tough day for low scores, but Steger made it
happen to extend his initial lead.
Steger has won the IGA Public Links, Match Play and State
Amateur, but this is his first open win with the pros. And it’s good experience
for him since he will be turning pro at some point this summer. He graduated
from Ball State May 7th and now looks forward to his future in golf.
“It is awesome to have no more school and be able to focus just on golf,” he
said. “It was always fun to be around the team, but it’s definitely time to
focus on my own game.” He plans to compete in the Indiana Amateur to try to
defend his title and qualify for the national USGA Public Links Championship
both before turning professional at the Indiana Open Championship in July.
See complete results here.