BLAINE, Minnesota (Ticker) -- A club pro from Dillard, Georgia, James Mason is the surprise leader entering Saturday's second round of the 3M Championship.

Mason established a course record, matched a tournament mark and recorded his lowest round on the Senior PGA Tour with an 8-under-par 64 on Friday.

Playing in a threesome with Arnold Palmer and Miller Barber, Mason grabbed a two-shot lead over another legend, Hale Irwin, whose 6-under 66 has him in contention for his tour-record 34th title.

Hubert Green, who last week defeated Irwin in a seven-hole playoff at the Lightpath Long Island Classic, is third after carding a 67.

Fuzzy Zoeller and Allen Doyle head a foursome at 68.

Among the other notables was baseball Hall of Famer Johnny Bench, who opened with an 81.

The rest of the field's legends made their names in golf, like Palmer and Barber, who drew ovations from the galleries at the TPC of the Twin Cities. It didn't seem to affect Mason.

Mason, who in June won the NFL Golf Classic as a Monday qualifier, opened the round by chipping in from 40 feet for birdie. After bogeying the second hole, he two-putted for birdie at the par-5 third.

Mason parred three straight holes before playing the final 12 in 7-under. Along the way, he had five birdie putts of at least 12 feet.

Despite missing a four-foot birdie putt at the 18th hole, Mason set a course record, breaking by two strokes the old mark held by three separate golfers. He became the sixth player in tournament history to shoot a 64.

Mason also recorded his lowest round as a Senior Tour member. He shot an opening-round 65 en route to his first career title in June.

On Saturday, Mason will play with Irwin, who has two titles this season but none since March. In 18 starts this season, he has 15 top-10s, losing a pair of playoffs in the past month, including last week.

Irwin had one of the day's four bogey-free rounds. He collected six birdies, making a 30-foot putt at the eighth hole and a 12-footer at the ninth. He also saved par twice on the front nine and missed a pair of short birdie putts on the back.