AUBURN | Brendan Valdes is one of the more outspoken guys on the Auburn men's golf team. He's also one of the best collegiate players in the country, so when he went out and fired a seven-under 65 to start the NCAA Regional on Monday, his coach wasn't shocked one bit.

"He's a guy that can play," Nick Clinard said. "He's a big-time player. He's second on PGA Tour U, and it's the things we are not surprised when he goes out and does that, too."

The senior wasted no time making his mark on a damp Auburn University Club course, making a birdie on his first three holes. After shooting 33 on the front, he was even better on the back, pocketing four birdies to finish a no-bogey round that helped pace the No. 1-seed Tigers to the top of the leaderboard.

"I started off pretty hot," Valdes said. "It was good to get rolling off the get go. I was more just trying to hit fairways out here. It's very, very important to hit fairways."

SEC Player of the Year Jackson Koivun had to wait close to three hours after teeing off on No. 18 due to a lightning delay, but finished the day with a birdie to score a 67 (-5). Carson Bacha shot a 71 (-1), while Cayden Pope finished even and Josiah Gilbert shot one over.

The Tigers currently lead the regional by eight strokes over their closest competitors, UCLA, while Valdes is on top of the individual leaderboard. The Orlando, Fla., native has an extra incentive to finish atop that leaderboard this week, and it involves his coach.

"He told me like six weeks ago if he won this tournament, I have to grow a beard," Clinard said.

Overall, the Auburn coach was pleased with how his five players went out on the first day of the regional, but knows they need to fix some things to keep up the low scores.

"I thought we had some careless mistakes with some three putts," Clinard said. "We just can't keep making those mistakes overall. But overall, I thought their games were good and solid."