On a day when he was playing under little pressure with nothing to lose, Eastern senior Dustin Sloat’s second round was even more frustrating.

The Panthers number-one player struggled to a disappointing 85 as his two-day total of 26-over-par 166 (81-85) left him near the bottom at the United States Amateur Championship, finishing tied for 292nd in a 312-golfer field.

“This is a national event so Dustin has to realize that it’s a stepping stone process,” Eastern golf coach Mike Moncel said. “This year you make the event, next you make match play and then you try and get to semi-finals and so on.”

Sloat made bigger numbers than Monday’s 81. His morning round at Philadelphia Country Club on Tuesday included five double bogeys, six bogeys and only one birdie.

“When you are not driving the ball in the fairway, everything is more difficult,” Moncel said.

Sloat was unable to manage his game efficiently or score well on off days like his coach has seen him do in the summer.

“Dustin’s bad rounds have only been like one or two over par,” Moncel said. “We talk all the time about being able to slap it around and stay around par.”

Throughout the two days, Sloat failed to convert on the par-4’s as he played those combined 24 holes at 17-over.

“Really good players fail to even qualify for the major,” Moncel said. “The same quality players miss match play.”

Moncel commented on how Sloat simply making the biggest amateur event in the country helps the Panthers program.

“I think kids are going to want to come here to play if we have more players with success,” Moncel said. “Plus, the players we got now will hopefully say ‘hey, I’m not any worse than him’.”

The conditions of both courses and the pressure of cut day sank into the players Tuesday, as scores were considerably higher in the second round.

Of the 16 players under par after the first round, two were in red numbers at the conclusion of stroke play.

The cut line for the 64 qualifiers fell at 6-over 146 and included a 17-man playoff for 14 spots.

Reigning NCAA champion James Lepp climbed over 17 players on the leaderboard to take medalist honors. Lepp has now joined a list that includes the likes of Tiger Woods, Bobby Jones and Phil Mickelson. The Canadian native, who will be a senior at the University of Washington, shot a 5-under par 65 in his afternoon round to win by four strokes and will receive the top overall seed when match play begins.

A fellow countryman took the lead in the morning as Keven Fortin Simard exploded with three birdies and an eagle over his first nine holes at Merion Country Club. The 19-year-old sophomore at Memphis gave up the top spot and found trouble down the stretch, including a triple bogey that involved him five-putting the par-4 12th green.

21-year-old Korey Mahoney was the clubhouse leader for several hours after he shot 3-under 67 Tuesday for a 36-hole total of 1-under 139. For a while, the top player at Eastern Michigan University was the only golfer in red figures after two days until Lepp made his move.

“I was 3 under in the early going and it kind of crept into my head that I could possibly have medalist honors,” Mahoney said in his post-round press conference.

First round leader Charlie Beljan came back to the field after posting a 6-over 76 Tuesday at Merion, compared to the 64 he carded in the opening round. His even-par 140 total makes him the fourth seed heading into match play.

“I played cautiously and that came back to bite me.” Beljan said after his round.

Former Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year Robert Dinwiddie carded 76 for a 8-over-par 148 and was two shots off the cut line.

The 32 first round matches will begin Wednesday morning.