INZAI, Chiba Pref. (Kyodo) Hiroyuki Fujita forged the day's best score of 5-under-par 66 in a bogey-free round on Friday to grab a one-stroke sole lead midway through the 100 million yen Suntory Open golf tournament in Chiba Prefecture.
Teeing off on the back nine at Sobu Country Club two strokes off the pace, the 34-year-old Fujita, winner of last December's Asia-Japan Okinawa Open, one-putted for birdies on Nos. 10, 17, 18 and 2 before capping off his brilliant performance with a 10-foot birdie putt on the eighth for a 36-hole total of 9-under 133.
Overnight leader Masayuki Kawamura shot a no-bogey 69 over the par-71, 7,155-yard course to stand alone in second place at 134, while Australian Paul Sheehan scattered six birdies against two bogeys en route to a 67 to share third place at 136 with India's Jyoti Randhawa (68).