Toru Taniguchi, who has yet to win a tour event this year, fired a 6-under-par 64 Thursday to grab the first-round lead by two shots in the season-ending Nippon Series JT Cup.
Taniguchi rebounded from a shaky start to put together an eagle and seven birdies as he set the early pace at the Tokyo Yomiuri Country Club in a tournament featuring an elite field of 26 players.
Taniguchi, whose last victory came at the Philip Morris Championship in October last year, bogeyed two of the first four holes but quickly rebounded with back-to-back birdies from No. 5.
The highlight of his round came at the next when he holed a 9-iron from 120 yards for eagle, which was followed by five more birdies and a bogey the rest of the way at the par-70, 6,958-yard layout.