Kasumi Fujii got off to a strong start in her bid to pip Yuri Fudo in the race for this year's money title, shooting a 3-under-par 68 Thursday to take the first-round lead at the Japan LPGA Tour Championship.
Fujii finished the day one stroke clear of Mihoko Takahashi and Taiwan's Wei Yun-jye in an elite field of 26 players who qualified for the season-ending event.
Fujii is second on the money list, trailing Fudo by 11 million yen. Fudo shot a 71.