ENDICOTT, N.Y. -- Joe Ozaki of Japan shot a 9-under 63 on Friday, his lowest score in three years on the Champions Tour, to gain a two-shot lead over Argentina's Eduardo Romero.
Joey Sindelar, Ronnie Black, and Fulton Allem were tied for third at 66, while John Harris, Des Smyth, Bobby Wadkins, and Morris Hatalsky were another shot back.
Bernhard Langer, second on the Champions Tour in earnings and playing the En-Joie Golf Club course for the first time, shot a 73.
R.W. Eaks, who won the first edition of this event a year ago with a 17-under total of 199, had a 75 while playing on two bum knees.
Playing on a cloudy day with just a hint of wind was the easy part for Ozaki, who had never played the narrow, tree-lined course before Monday's pro-am. His manager in the United States had the holiday weekend off, so his Japanese manager, Mitoki Adachi, who speaks only a couple words of English, just had to smile and let Joe describe a round that matched his best as a pro.
"Very, very well today," Ozaki said with a big smile. "Perfect. Greens perfect. Easy to stop. Between the trees, no problem.
"OK, finished! Thank you!" Ozaki said as he began to leave.
Not so fast, Joe.
When PGA Tour media official Dave Senko told him he needed only 22 putts, Ozaki halted, but only momentarily.
"Twenty-two? Really?" he said. "Thank you!"
Because heavy rain soaked the course overnight, players were allowed to lift and clean their balls in the fairways, and Ozaki took full advantage. He had no bogeys and closed with a 29 on the back nine, making birdie on six of his final seven holes.
After sinking a 25-foot birdie putt at No. 9 to reach 3 under, Ozaki made birdie putts of 12 and 6 feet at Nos. 12 and 13, then chipped in from 71 feet at the par-4 15th hole to start a string of four straight birdies.
Romero made his mark on the front nine. He started with three straight birdies and after two pars made three more birdies with a trio of putts that traveled a total of 13 feet. The only blemish on his day was a double bogey at the par-4 10th after he hit his second shot into one of the 10 water hazards on the course.
