Lotter, Valdes pace Tigers in round one at Dorado Beach

DORADO BEACH, Puerto Rico – Led by underclassmen Reed Lotter and Brendan Valdes, No. 2 Auburn men's golf kickstarted the Dorado Beach Collegiate Sunday, firing a 3-under 285.
 
Heading into Monday's middle round, the Tigers sit tied for sixth place, 12 strokes behind the leading team and tournament host, UNCG.
 
"Obviously, some rust to be shaken off with it being our first round of the spring," head coach Nick Clinard said. "We've got a lot to learn from, but this group is more than capable of it. Tomorrow will be about adjusting and playing smarter than we did today."
 
As an individual player, Lotter's tally does not contribute to the overall team score, however, the freshman led the Tigers with an opening day 68 (-4) to compile the third round in the 60s in the first four rounds of his collegiate career.
 
Just a shot higher, Valdes officially leads the lineup in a tie for 11th place. The sophomore matched four bogeys with seven birdies, including a 4-under stretch from holes 6 to 12, accumulating a 69 (-3). Following the performance, the Orlando, Florida native has scored in the 60s in 16 of 38 career rounds, good for the third-best total on the roster.
 
"I think all of us aren't totally pleased with our performances today," Valdes said. "We got off to a slow start, but the good thing is, we still have 36 holes to play. We're going to keep grinding and chipping away until we get where we want to be."
 
Joining Lotter as the other individual competitor, junior J.M. Butler capped his day with a 2-under 70 to sneak inside the top-20. Junior Ryan Eshleman followed tightly behind at 71 (-1) to record Auburn's fourth below-par outing on the day.
 
Next man into the clubhouse was sophomore Evan Vo, who shot even par (72). Following Vo were junior Carson Bacha (73/+1) and senior Alex Vogelsong (74/+2).
 
For moving day, all team's will kickstart the action in a shotgun start at 7:30 a.m. CT. The Tigers will tee off on holes 6 through 10 paired with Ball State, Boston College and West Virginia.
 
Scoring for Tuesday's 18 at the Dorado Beach Collegiate can be found at GolfStat.com.