Jun Kikuchi, winless in his seven-year professional career, shot a 6-under-par 66 Thursday to take a one-stroke lead after the opening round of the ANA Open.
Kikuchi birdied three straight holes from the fourth to highlight a bogey-free round at the Sapporo Golf Club Wattsu Course, with Masashi "Ozaki" leading a trio tied for second place at 67.
A deft short game left Ozaki needing just 10 putts in a back-nine 32 as the 55-year-old got off to a strong start to his bid to claim his first victory since winning his career 93rd on the tour in August 2000.
Little-known Masanori Kobayashi and veteran Satoshi Higashi also shot 67s, followed by seven golfers at 68, including Toru Taniguchi, Hiroyuki Fujita, Taiwan's Hsieh Chin-sheng and Dinesh Chand of Fiji.