British Open winner Ben Curtis fired a 7-under-par 65 to take the lead after the first round of the 150 million yen Mitsui Sumitomo Visa Taiheiyo Masters on Thursday.

The 26-year-old American, making his first appearance on the Japanese tour, collected eight birdies and dropped just one shot on the 15th hole at Taiheiyo Club's Gotemba Course to establish a one-stroke advantage over Masashi "Jumbo" Ozaki and Kiyoshi Murota.