Tour veteran Junko Yasui tied the course record with a 6-under-par 66 Friday to grab a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Nasu Ogawa Ladies golf tournament.
Yasui, in her 16th year on the Japan LPGA tour, carded seven birdies against a lone bogey at the 6,150-yard, par-72 Nasu Ogawa Golf Club to sit one stroke ahead of Kasumi Fujii.
"I was able to get good placement on the greens today and I think that helped my score a lot. I missed the cut here last year so I'm pretty pleased with today's round," said Yasui.
Fujii knocked in nine birdies -- including six straight on the back nine -- to match a single-round tour record, but took four bogeys for a 5-under 67 and sole possession of second place.
A group of four golfers, including Orie Fujino, winner of the season-opening Daikin Orchid Ladies, stand three strokes off the pace on 69.
Meanwhile, U.S. LPGA tour regular Akiko Fukushima got off to a slow start and finished the first round with a 73 for 23rd place.
Katayama takes lead
INA, Ibaraki Pref. (Kyodo) Shingo Katayama escaped from the pack to take a one-stroke lead Friday after the second round of the 100 million yen Kirin Open at the Ibaraki Golf Club's East Course.
Katayama's second straight 70 put him ahead of Tsuyoshi Yoneyama, Kazuhiko Hosokawa and Taiwan's Lin Keng-chi, who ballooned to a 75 after shooting a 66 in the first round.