MOC's Royster 29th at Division II championship

By News-Argus Staff
Published in Sports on May 3, 2005 2:14 PM

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COLUMBUS, Ga. -- Mount Olive College golfer Eric Royster is tied for 29th out of 90 golfers and Mikael Moberg is tied for 39th after first round play at the Atlantic/Southeast Super Regional of the 2005 NCAA Division II men's golf championship Monday at Bull Creek Golf Course.

Royster, a senior from Youngsville, shot a seven-over-par 79, two strokes over his average during the spring. Playing the 10th through 18 holes for the front nine and holes one through nine for the back nine, Royster shot a 41 on the front nine. He had three bogeys and a double-bogey seven on the par-5 13th hole.

But Royster rebounded on the back nine, putting together a string of six consecutive pars. He bogeyed two of the final four holes and played the back nine below his stroke average, shooting a two-over-par 38.

Moberg, a freshman from Gaule, Sweden, finished one shot back with a first-round 80. Moberg was one-under-par through two holes after a birdie on the 11th hole, but a bogey on the 12th brought him back to even par. Moberg remained at even par until a triple-bogey seven on the par-4 15th hole led to a 40 on the front nine.

After a bogey and a double-bogey to begin the back nine, Moberg parred six of the final seven holes for a matching 40 on the back nine.

Among the 45 Atlantic Region golfers, Royster is tied for 14th and Moberg is tied for 18th.

USC-Aiken golfer Dane Burkart is the overall first round leader with a two-under-par 70. Four golfers are tied for second at even-par 72.

In the team competition, Belmont Abbey holds a two-stroke advantage over Queens with a 303 to sit atop the first-round leaderboard among the eight Atlantic Region teams. USC-Aiken shot a 292 and has a five-shot lead over Armstrong Atlantic State among the Southeast Region teams.

The top Atlantic Region finisher and the top Southeast Region finisher advance to the national finals, along with three at-large teams, regardless of region.

In addition, the top individual not with a team that advances to nationals will also earn a berth in the national finals.

Royster and Moberg are the first Mount Olive golfers to earn bids to the NCAA Division II regional since 2002.

The 54-hole tournament resumes Tuesday with the second round. The tournament concludes Wednesday.