Shingo Katayama, last year's top money earner on the Japanese tour, and Peter Senior of Australia both shot 7-under-par 64s Thursday to grab a share of the lead after the first round of the Kirin Open.
Katayama and Senior matched each other with seven birdies in bogey-free rounds on the Ibaraki Golf Club's par-71 East Course, standing one stroke ahead of Kiyoshi Murota in a tournament which also serves as the Asia-Pacific Open Golf Championship.