Josh Teater had an eagle and six birdies on Thursday to take the lead in the US PGA Tour's Reno-Tahoe Open with 15 points in the modified stableford scoring system.
James Driscoll and Gary Woodland both notched 14 points to share second place, while Australian Greg Chalmers was alone in fourth on 13 points and compatriot Stuart Appleby a point further behind.
Rather than counting strokes, the modified stableford scoring system awards eight points for double eagles, five for eagles, two for birdies, zero for pars and subtracts one point for bogeys and three points for double bogey or worse.
"Last year I played pretty good here," said Teater. "I think Friday's round wasn't very good, but I played good Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday and finished seventh. So you can make a lot of moves in one round. So I got a good start, and hopefully I can keep it going."
Appleby and Colt Knost both totalled 12 points, while 2008 Masters champion Trevor Immelman, Bud Cauley, Justin Bolli, David Mathis and Dean Wilson all had 10.
Woodland, the 2011 Transitions Championship winner, had taken the early lead with seven birdies in a bogey-free round, but Teater overtook him.
The 34-year-old highlighted his opening round and pushed his total to 13 with an eagle at the par-five eighth, then birdied his last hole to overtake Woodland.
