State Open Title a Family Affair for Former Cardinal Eric Steger

When former Ball State golfer Eric Steger won the Indiana Open last week, he wasn't just writing his own story.

He was adding his chapter to a book more than 40 years in the making. He was further cementing the Steger name in the state of Indiana's golf annals. And he was accomplishing something never before achieved.

See, Eric's father Scott – himself an All-American at Ball State – won the state open back in 1980 at the Golf Club of Indiana. And while the event has been contested since 1915, there had never been a father and son to both win it … until Eric's victory at Rock Hollow.

But there's more. Scott and Eric were already the only father-son duo to win the Indiana Amateur. Scott won in 1975 at Otter Creek before his sophomore year at Ball State and Eric in 2010 at the Country Club of Indianapolis before his senior year with the Cardinals. The state amateur has been played even longer than the open, since 1900 to be exact.

The state's two marquee events, both contested for more than 100 years. Only one father-son combo has ever won either event. And the Stegers won them both.

"When you think about it, it's very cool," Eric said. "I feel like it's crazy it hasn't been done before. But when you think about what goes into winning a tournament and how good golfers are … It's three days and there are 144 golfers, and anything can happen. Winning is rare whether you're playing on a mini tour against 10 guys or on the PGA Tour against the best in world."

Eric had been close before in the open. He was runner-up in 2013 and had twice finished third. He had not competed in the event as often in recent years because of playing opportunities on the Web.com (now Korn Ferry) Tour, the gateway to the PGA Tour. And he came into this year's championship having played less tournament golf than in any of his previous appearances.

Eric was scheduled for a full slate of events on PGA Tour Latinoamérica this year before COVID-19 hit, postponing the tour's schedule until at least October. He had to adjust, completing the necessary book work to become a PGA assistant golf professional and taking on that role at Wildcat Creek in Kokomo.

But his game was still sharp last week at Rock Hollow. A second-round 65 left him two shots back entering the final day. He grabbed a share of the lead for the first time on seventh hole of the last round and then made four birdies on the back nine to pull away.

"I think being in the situation before helped me to mentally get over the edge," Eric said. "It wasn't the sharpest I've ever been going into a tournament, but mentally I knew how to handle it. I knew as long as I played smart and stayed patient I would have a chance coming into the last couple holes."

He birdied his final hole to finish at 13 under par, three shots clear of runner-up and fellow Ball State alumnus Timothy Wiseman. It was a heavy BSU leaderboard with Scott Pieri and two-time champion Brian Maurer (Eric's BSU teammate) also in the top 10.

Ball State. Another remarkable connection between this father and son. A school some people even discouraged Eric from attending because of the expectations that came with his last name. Scott Steger had long since been inducted into the Ball State Athletics Hall of Fame by the time his son enrolled. Eric used to run right by his dad's Hall of Fame plaque on a regular basis during team workouts on the Worthen Arena concourse.

"Every lap I took, I had to see his face," Eric said half-jokingly. "It was something I didn't want to escape, but I couldn't even if I wanted to."

Scott was a two-time All-American, led the Cardinals twice to the NCAA Championships under coach Earl Yestingsmeier and went on to play three years on the PGA Tour.

Scott Steger won seven tournaments, a school record at the time, from 1974-78.

He never pushed his son to attend Ball State or even to play golf. Eric devoted most of his time to baseball growing up in Noblesville before turning seriously to golf in his early teenage years. While Scott was the head golf professional at Pebble Brook, he thought his son's best opportunity was probably in baseball.

But Eric developed his game quickly, and Mike Fleck's Cardinals happened to present the best opportunity for him to play early in his college career.

"I always said, 'Go be better. Don't worry about what I did,'" Scott said. "He went over there to try to make his own legacy, and I think he did. There's no doubt that he is a way better player than I ever was. He just has a full command of all of his shots and more variety than I ever had."

Eric's legacy included All-MAC recognition twice, an NCAA Regional at-large berth, the second-best single-season scoring average in program history (72.68 as a senior) and the lowest round ever by a BSU player in relation to par – an 8-under 64 at the 2009 Renaissance Invitational. He has since made a career out of the game for nearly a decade as a pro.

Golf has a reputation as a family game, a love for it often shared from one generation to the next. That is certainly true of the Stegers. At Ball State, within the state of Indiana and among the professional ranks, their mark on the game is significant.

And who knows? Maybe there could be more to come. Eric and his wife Natalie – a former BSU cheerleader and now associate director at the NCAA – welcomed their first child, a son, just more than a year ago.

The family was all at Eric's parents' house the weekend after his state open victory. Dad and son were talking about the win, the uniqueness of their place in Indiana's golf history, and the potential that perhaps the next generation might one day love the game, too.

Eric turned to his father and said, "What do you think, dad?"

State Open Title a Family Affair for Former Cardinal Eric Steger

Players Mentioned

Timothy Wiseman

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