Aug. 23, 2005

Ardmore, Pa. - East Carolina sophomore golfer Chris Ault posted an 11-over par 81 during the first round of the 105th U.S. Amateur Open Monday afternoon in stroke play at the Merion Golf Club.

Ault, a native of Levittown, Pa., shot a five over 39 on the back nine and a six-over par 42 on the front and currently sits in a tie for 251st. On the day, he recorded two birdies, four bogeys and four double-bogey's.

Charlie Beljan, 20, of Mesa, Ariz., made nine birdies and shot a 6-under-par 64 at Philadelphia Country Club to lead the field of 312 golfers by four strokes

Beljan's nearest challengers were Andrew Parr, 22, and Ryan Yip, 20, of Canada; Ryan Blaum, 21, of Coral Gables, Fla.; Jay Choi, 21, of Cerritos, Calif.; and Chandler Cocco, 20, of Bend, Ore, who finished at 2-under 68 at the 6,967-yard Philadelphia C.C. course. The low scorers at Merion were 36-year-old Mark Strickland of Woodstock, Ga., and Todd Mitchell, 27, of Bloomington, Ill., who had a 1-under-par 69s over the 6,846-yard championship course.

In all, 16 golfers broke par, but 14 of them played their first round at Philadelphia C.C. The golfers will play the opposite course on Tuesday.

Ault is scheduled to tee off at 12:41 pm Tuesday afternoon at the Philadelphia Country Club. Pirate fans can catch all the action by logging on to www.usamateur.org.