BANDO, Nov. 5, 2009 (Kyodo News International) -- Shigeki Maruyama shot a 5-under 66 to take a share of the lead after the first round of The Championship by Lexus on Thursday.

Maruyama, who is playing in his first full season on the Japanese tour in a decade, made seven birdies against a pair of bogeys at Otone Country Club to join South Koreans Kim Hyung Sung and Kim Kyung Tae and Australian Wayne Perske at the top of the leaderboard.

The 40-year-old Maruyama last won in Japan at the Bridgestone Open in 1999, the year before he moved to the United States to play on the PGA Tour.

Kazuhiro Yamashita, Masaya Tomida, Katsunori Kuwabara and South Korean Kim Hyung Tae all carded 67s to share fifth.

The field has been weakened in the absence of names such as money leader Yuta Ikeda, teenage sensation Ryo Ishikawa and Shingo Katayama, who are all competing in the prestigious HSBC (NYSE:HBC) Champions in Shanghai.