After a successful start to perhaps the biggest golf round of his life, Eric Steger's streak of success ended.
A senior on the Ball State men's golf team, Steger lost Wednesday against Connor Arendell at the 110th U.S. Amateur Championship.
Early in match play, a head-to-head format versus Arendell, 50th-seeded Steger earned a three-stroke advantage against his 15th-seeded opponent, but he was unable to hold onto his lead and pull the upset, losing by two holes.
"I played well for most of the match, but I fell apart at the end and he got some good breaks and it didn't end up working out for me," said Steger, who advanced to the first round of match play in the U.S. Amateur for the second-straight year.
This came after advancing after two rounds of stroke play earlier in the day with scores of 75 and 73, finishing with a final score of 6-over 148.
Hosted at Chambers Bay in University Place, Wash., the tournament consisted of two stroke play rounds at the par-71 Home Course and the par-71 Chambers Bay.
"I played average at the easy course [Home Course] and played well at the hard course," Steger said.
Ball State coach Mike Fleck, who accompanied Steger on the trip, said he's proud of what the senior accomplished at the tournament.
"It's exciting. He's been putting a lot of hard work into it, potentially having some success in a 64 match play," Fleck said. "He's had a lot of success in these amateur tournaments, so I'm really happy for him."
Ball State starts its season Sept. 11 at the Wolf Run Golf Club in Zionsville, Ind., where it will compete in the Wolf Run Intercollegiate.
Steger said the U.S. Amateur experience will help him this fall.
"I had a lot of fun. Chambers Bay was amazing, and it was like nothing I had ever experienced," he said. "I enjoyed every moment of this trip and learned a lot that will help me in the future."
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