Mitchell native Eric Hieb wrapped up his collegiate golf career this week at the Central/West Region Championship at the Wigwam Resort in Litchfield Park, Ariz.
Hieb finished with a score of 238 and came in 94th place out of 108 golfers.
"It was definitely a humbling experience playing with some of the best Division II golfers," Hieb said after he finished his final round on Wednesday. "It was very bittersweet to end my collegiate career this way, and it was very frustrating."
Through the three-day meet, Hieb got better every round.
Monday, Hieb shot a 9-over par 81 in the opening round. He birdied two holes and had six pars and tied for 98th place at the end of the day.
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Tuesday, Hieb shot a 7-over-par 72 with 11 pars. He was still tied for 98th place after two rounds.
Wednesday, Heib shot a 78 to finish 6-over par to end the tournament.
"I would have liked to play a lot better, but things just didn't go my way," Hieb said. "I got myself into some trouble and I never got myself out."
Augustana men's golf coach Steve Klock was only able to be with Hieb for the first round of the tournament on Monday, but was still proud of the way Hieb played.
"He just got off to a rough start on Monday and I don't know if he ever recovered from that," Klock said. "In a championship like the Central/West Region, if something happens like that, some golfers bounce back and some don't. He usually does, but he didn't this week."
Hieb doesn't plan to play golf after college. He's just going to play leisurely and do some state amateur golfing. For now, he's going to come back to South Dakota and focus on school until his graduation on May19.
"I'm going to have some big shoes to fill next year," Klock said about losing Hieb to graduation. "He's been our best player for a couple years now, and I'm definitely going to need to fill a void."
