Kaname Yokoo went on a birdie binge to take a one-shot lead with a 7-under-par 63 in the first round of the season-ending Nippon Series JT Cup on Thursday.
Winless since claiming the 2006 Mitsubishi Diamond Cup Golf, Yokoo put together six birdies through a seven-hole stretch on the front nine to make the turn at 29.
Record-breaking schoolboy Ryo Ishikawa also got off to a bright start, overcoming an early bogey to shoot a 67 for a share of seventh place.