Australian golfer Nathan Green shot an eight-under 62 today to take a two-stroke lead over Americans Olin Browne and Paul Claxton in the Texas Open.

Green, winless in three seasons on the PGA Tour, birdied nine of the first 16 holes before dropping a stroke on the par-3 17th and closing with a par.

"I didn't feel really good before the round started and then on the first hole I snapped my drive, it hit a rock and bounced back in the fairway,'' Green said. "From there, everything went pretty well.''

Claxton and Browne, a three-time tour winner, had bogey-free 64s in sunny and warm conditions on La Cantera Golf Club's Resort Course.

"This course is right up my alley,'' said Browne, who tied for second in the 2005 tournament. "I hit every green and only had one shaky putt.''

Australian left-hander Nick O'Hern was in a group of six players tied for fourth on 65, with countryman Stephen Allan a shot further back.

Defending champion Justin Leonard, the former University of Texas star seeking a record fourth victory in the event, shot a 70.

"I hit the ball pretty well off the tee, but didn't make any putts,'' Leonard said.

"The greens weren't as good as they have been, but they were good enough to make putts.''

Green shot a five-under 30 on the front nine, then pulled away from the field with birdies on No. 2 10, 13, 14 and 16 for a four-shot lead.

"It was just one of those days were everything went right,'' Green said. ``I had two months were I couldn't seem to get anything right, so this was nice to see.''

The 62 was the lowest round of his PGA Tour career. He tied for second in the 2006 Buick Invitational for his best PGA Tour finish. Green recently moved just outside of Dallas to ease his travel burdens and said playing in his adopted home state was a relief.

"I'm not a big fan of planes, so we drove down here Tuesday and it was very relaxing,'' Green said.

Starting at the par-4 sixth hole, he birdied five holes in a row with putts all five metres or shorter. His longest putt of the day came on the par-4 16th, when he rolled in an eight-metre effort.

AP