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Three atop Toshiba Classic Leaderboard

Bob Tway, Chein Soon Lu and Mark Wiebe were tied for the lead in the Toshiba Classic after Friday's first round. Each player shot 6-under 65s.

Tournament favorite Fred Couples carded a 66 and is tied for fourth with Olin Browne, Lonnie Nielson and Mike Goodes.

Defending champion Eduardo Romero fired a 67 and is in a logjam with seven other players in a tie for eighth. Another notable, Tom Watson, shot a 69 despite having not practiced for three weeks while at his home in snowbound Kansas City.

Wiebe was battling a head cold but still managed to reel off six birdies during his bogey-free round. "I didn't know it was bogey-free until my caddie told me on the last hole after I picked my ball out of the cup," he said. "I had no idea, which kind of tells me that my head was in the right place."

Tway had seven birdies and a solitary bogey after he missed from a foot away on the par-4 No. 11th hole. "I hit a very good second shot and I hit my first putt about a foot by," he said. "It was kind of in a footprint and I missed about a foot putt, so that was disappointing."

Lu, a native of Taiwan, has conditional status on the Champions Tour. He earned a spot in the field after tying for ninth two weeks ago in the Allianz Championship.

Couples, the longest hitter on the senior circuit with an average of 300.2 yards per drive, had no problems with 6,584-yard Newport Beach Country Club, using his No. 1 wood off the tee on many holes and needing nothing more than a 9-iron for his approaches.

"I hit a wedge on my first hole," Couples said. "I made a 20-footer, which was a great start. ... I feel good about the round. I probably couldn't have gotten much more out of it."

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