Australian journeyman Shane Tait fired an 8-under-par 64 Thursday to take an early lead after the first round of the ANA Open golf tournament.
Tait, who began the day off the 10th tee, birdied three of his first five holes and then added six birdies after the turn as the 30-year-old rookie on the Japanese tour stands one shot ahead of Colombian Eduardo Herrera at the Sapporo Golf Club's Watts Course.
Tait was among the early morning starters unaffected by the wind which picked up in Hokkaido as the round wore on, boosting his chances of claiming the first victory of his career on any tour in the world.
He spent three years on the second-tier Nike Tour in the United States before obtaining a tour card in Japan last year.
Tait, ranked 81st in the money list, finished tied for 14th at the Mizuno Open in June for his best performance.
Herrera made eight birdies against one bogey for a 65, followed by Taiwan's Lin Keng-chi at 66 and Myanmar's Zaw Moe at 67 as foreign players occupy the top four spots on the leaderboard.
Masashi "Jumbo" Ozaki began his campaign to end a 13-month victory drought with a 68, which put him in a tie for fifth with David Smail of New Zealand, Ikuo Shirahama and Nobumitsu Yuhara.
Toshimitsu Izawa, who will represent host Japan in the World Cup in November, had a one-over 73.
Shingo Katayama, Hidemichi Tanaka and Toru Taniguchi are among leading Japanese players sitting out the tournament, which offers the 20 million yen winner's check out of the 100 million yen purse.