Pebble Brook pro ties for fifth, mentors young Noblesville golfers
By RICHIE HALL
SPEEDWAY – Even after Eric Steger had finished his third round Wednesday at the PGA Indiana Open, he was on the putting green at Brickyard Crossing Golf Club, just in case.
It was a wise decision, since the tournament results were still up in the air. At one point, six men were on top of the leaderboard, tied for first place. Steger was one of those players on top before he eventually finished in fifth place, with a three-day score of 211, five under par.
It was a remarkable comeback for the 37-year-old, who was a star golfer for Noblesville and Ball State. He started the final round with an even-par score (74-70) before taking care of business during the final 18 holes. Steger went five under par for a 67 on Wednesday.
“I was seven back going into today,” said Steger. “I was in 21st place. So, today was good, yesterday was good.”
Steger admitted the first round was a struggle, after he “played in the afternoon with some wind and just didn’t handle the firm greens.” But he held on and said that finishing the tournament with a five-under par round was “certainly not bad.”
Steger graduated from Noblesville in 2007 and Ball State in 2011, winning the Indiana State Amateur in 2010. He played professionally on the PGA LatinoAmerica tour for several years and picked up other local wins, including the Indiana Open in 2020.
Steger has been an instructor at Pebble Brook Golf Club in Noblesville for six years. An article on the Golf Digest website said that Steger received votes in the magazine’s “The Best Teachers in Every State” survey.
“In 2020 when the pandemic hit, I started there part time, splitting my time between there and Wildcat Creek, and then full time starting in 2021,” said Steger.
“I love it. It’s very busy,” said Steger. The club has “ample practice space and I’m as busy as I ever have been, which is great. [There’s an] awesome group of students who trust me with their games and I enjoy it.”
Noblesville has finished in the top 10 at the state meet for the past five years, which of course Steger enjoys seeing. He said watching the Millers’ success has led to a full-circle moment for him.
“The last couple years, I’ve taken on a few of the Noblesville High School players as my own students, and to be able to see them go to state and compete and move on to the college level is awesome,” said Steger.
When asked about the difference between high school golf from his playing days to today, Steger said that the young players “hit it longer” and technology is way different. But there are similarities, such as kids learning about course management, which Steger thinks makes a big difference.
“That’s my job and what I work on a lot with my students,” said Steger. “Once course management hits, that’s when they figure out how to ‘miss it’ around the golf course, have good misses around the golf course, miss it in the right and appropriate spot.”
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