Shingo Katayama ran in five birdies on the front end of a bogey-free 66 on Friday to open up a four-stroke lead midway through the 200 million yen Dunlop Phoenix tournament.
Katayama, a runnerup at the Philip Morris Championship three weeks ago, equaled the best round of the day to move into the lead at the Phoenix Country Club with an 11-under 131 total.
Darren Clarke of Northern Ireland, a runnerup here in 1998, birdied the final hole in a 2-under 69 to earn a share of second place with overnight co-leader Andrew Coltart of Scotland.
Masashi "Jumbo" Ozaki and Nobuhito Sato, the winner of four tour events this season were in joint 17th while Keiichiro Fukabori and defending champion Thomas Bjorn of Denmark pulled out of the tourney before the start of play Friday.
Ku on a roll
SAITA, Kagawa Pref. (Kyodo) South Korean veteran Ku Ok Hee, chasing back-to-back titles on the Japan LPGA tour, produced a flawless 6-under-par 66 on Friday to take a two-stroke lead after the first round of the Elleair Ladies Open.
Ku, the winner of last week's Itoen Ladies event, carded six birdies in a bogey-free trek at the Elleair Golf Club, with Japan's Aki Takamura her nearest rival in the clubhouse after a solid 68.
"This course seems to suit my game -- all my approach shots landed within 3 feet today. It looks like I'm on a roll from last week," said Ku, aiming for her third victory of the season and 19th in 17 years on the Japanese circuit.
Takamura, still winless in 2000, also went bogey-free under cloudy conditions in Shikoku, to claim sole possession of second place.