After his practice round Sunday, Eastern senior golfer Dustin Sloat called his coach to cure his swing. It didn’t work.

“I did my best to help him over the phone,” Eastern head coach Mike Moncel said. “I’ve worked with Dustin since he was a kid, so it’s not like we are re-inventing the wheel.”

Sloat finished his first round of the United States Amateur Championship with an 11-over-par 81 that places him tied for 251st in a field of 311.

“If he drives the ball well and putts fairly decently, he’ll be able to compete,” Moncel said. “If he doesn’t, he’ll get squashed like a grape.”

The field will be narrowed down after Tuesday’s stroke play round into the top 64 players, and then match play brackets will be formed for the rest of the week.

Sloat had an extremely inconsistent round at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pa., due to his inability to make a par.

“If he’s not driving the ball in play, he has the same troubles as everyone else,” Moncel said.

The Charleston, Ill. native started his round on the back nine which included a bogey-birdie-bogey start followed by a pair of pars and finishing with four consecutive bogeys.

“He said over the phone that he was going dead right (off the tee) and couldn’t figure out why,” Moncel said. “I’m hoping he finds it on the range.”

The back nine didn’t fare any better after birding the first hole and playing his final eight holes at seven-over including a triple-bogey on the 597-yard par-5 4th hole.

“he key for Dustin this week will be his short game, but this is a major so that’s not surprising,” Moncel said.

In a twist of fate, Sloat had the perceived easier afternoon tee time at the harder of the two courses.

Of the 16 golfers that broke par, 14 of them played their first round at Philadelphia C.C. Those golfers will play the opposite course on Tuesday.

Sloat qualified for the event through Sectional Qualifying at Stone Creek Golf Club in Urbana.

The Eastern senior had to finish in the top two spots in the 66-golfer field, and Sloat shot a three-under-par 141 (70-71) to finish second.

Sloat is teeing it up in his first ever United States Golf Association event.

“The key will be him not feeling that he’s happy to be there,” Moncel said. “He needs instant success in order to feel that he’s just as good as anybody here.”

The clubhouse leader after round one is 20-year-old Charlie Beljan, who made nine birdies and shot a six-under-par 64 at Philadelphia Country Club to hold a four-stroke lead over the field.

The junior at the University of New Mexico and 2002 U.S. Junior Amateur champion made all of his birdie putts from within 20 feet.

“I knew if I could get out to a great start, things would get rolling,” Beljan said in his post-round press conference. “I didn’t hit it that great today, but I made the putts.”

Reigning NCAA champion James Lepp of Canada finished the day tied for 17th as his even-par 70 was at Merion, the third best score at the championship course.

The current cut line for the Top 64 that will qualify for the match play round is two-over-par.

Other competitors in the Ohio Valley Conference include former Tennessee State player Robert Dinwiddie posted a two-over-par 72 which places him tied for 44th place. Morehead State senior Kyle Litter shot an 84, and Tennessee Tech senior Braxton Hunter is near last with a 92.