Bernhard Langer shot a 10-under 62 on Friday to take a four-stroke lead after the first round of the Administaff Small Business Classic. Langer, the German star playing his fourth Champions Tour event since turning 50 on Aug. 27, needed only 24 putts to match the best round of the season on the tour. He had a 43-foot eagle try on the par-5 18th, but settled for his 10th birdie of the day. The two-time Masters champion broke the Augusta Pines Golf Course record of 63 set by Jay Haas last year in the second round.

Texan Tom Kite, winless in his home state, pulled within three strokes of Langer with a birdie on the 17th hole, but his bogey on 18 dropped him into a tie for second at 66 with Mark McNulty, Craig Stadler, Tom Jenkins, John Ross and Jeff Sluman. Sluman birdied the final three holes.

Mark O'Meara gave his round a boost with an 8-foot, par-saving putt on the eighth hole and made three birdies on the back nine for a 67. Tom Wargo, Jerry Pate, Eduardo Romero, Bob Gilder, Fuzzy Zoeller, Lonnie Nielsen and Andy Bean also shot 67s.

Langer tied the course nine-hole record of 30, holing an 18-foot birdie putt on the first hole and 15-footer for eagle on the second. He added birdies of 15, 6 and 15 feet on the front nine and finished with birdies on four of the final five holes.

O'Meara birdied three of the first four holes but he went into the rough and bogeyed the par-4 seventh hole. He credited his par-saver on the next hole with getting his round going. He had long birdie putts at 14 and 15 and two-putted from 32 feet on the final hole for his sixth birdie of the day.

Defending champion Haas, trying to regain the Charles Schwab points lead from Loren Roberts, shot a 69. John Cook also opened with a 69 in his tour debut.

Haas led the Charles Schwab point standings for 19 weeks, but Roberts took the lead with last week' s victory in the Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship. Haas is 161 points behind Roberts. A victory in the Administaff would give the lead back to Haas with two tournaments remaining this season, the AT&T Championship and the Charles Schwab Cup Championship.

Haas started the week with $2,431,321 in earnings this year. He's trying to become the second Champions Tour player to reach $3 million in season earnings. Hale Irwin won $3,028,304 in 2002.