BLAINE, Minn. (AP) James Mason shot a course-record 8-under-par 64 on Friday to take a two-stroke lead over Hale Irwin after the first round of the Senior PGA Tour's 3M Championship.

Mason, playing with course designer Arnold Palmer, birdied seven of the last 12 holes to break the mark of 66 set last year by three players in the first event on the TPC of the Twin Cities.

The round also was the lowest of Mason's senior career, topping the 65 he shot in May in the opening round of his breakthrough victory in the NFL Golf Classic. He made five birdie putts of 12 feet or longer, capped by a 20-footer on the 17th hole.

Irwin, coming off a playoff loss to Hubert Green last week in the Long Island Classic, had a bogey-free 66.

The 1997 and 1999 tournament winner at Bunker Hills in Coon Rapids, Irwin had his 11th consecutive under-par round - the longest streak on the tour this year - and broke 70 for the 15th time in 18 career rounds in the event.

Green was another stroke back at 67, and senior rookie Fuzzy Zoeller, Allen Doyle, Sammy Rachels, Rocky Thompson and Leonard Thompson followed at 68.

Bruce Lietzke, the winner last year in his third senior start, opened with a 69. After making four straight birdies to reach 3 under, he had a triple-bogey 8 on the 571-yard sixth hole.

The 72-year-old Palmer, who teamed with former University of Minnesota player Tom Lehman to design the course, shot a 78, the second-worst score among the 77 finishers. Baseball Hall of Famer Johnny Bench had the worst round with an 81.

Gil Morgan withdrew after one hole because of a back problem.

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