Brian Barnes shot a 7-under-par 65 Friday and has a one-stroke lead over Tommy Aaron, David Lundstrom and Jim Dent after the opening round of the Boone Valley Classic.

Barnes had eight birdies in his round on the 6,731-yard Boone Valley course. His only bogey came on No. 2, when he three-putted after misreading the speed of the green.

"That green was not as fast as the practice putting green, so I had a little hiccup there," Barnes said.

Barnes, whose longest birdie putt was eight feet, on the par-4 13th, credited his iron play for the strong round.

"If you get on the wrong side of some of these holes you have to think about two-putting instead of knocking it in for a birdie," Barnes said.

Lundstrom was 8 under after 15 holes but bogeyed two of the last three. He said he wasn't upset about the way he finished.

"I'm trying not to let that get me down too much," Lundstrom said. "I did a lot of good things out there early in the round so I'm thankful for that."

Lundstrom said he wished he had paid more attention to the advice his caddie gave him on reading some of the greens.

"There were three or four putts that he saw differently than I did and he turned out to be right about them," Lundstrom said. "I might have made some of them if I had hit the ball the way he advised."

The tournament was played in September for the first three years before being moved to May this year and the change was welcomed by the leaders.

"They've cut the rough down the course is playing real fair," Lundstrom said. "It's just a matter of whether you hit the right shots."

Aaron's round was his lowest of the year.

"I'm happy with my score," he said. "I try to drive in the fairway and put my ball on the green, sometimes you do it better than other times."

Dent birdied the last three holes to move into the tie for second.

Barnes, who gave up drinking six years ago, said he wouldn't be out celebrating his low round Friday night.

"Six years ago, if I'd shot this round, I'd have been in the bar until my starting time tomorrow morning," he said.

Barnes, who lives in England, said he travels the Senior PGA Tour in an RV and avoids the social life.

Seven players were at 67, while St. Louis native Hale Irwin, who won this tournament in 1997, was another stroke back.

Irwin played in a threesome with the two other past Boone Valley winners, Larry Nelson and Gibby Gilbert. Nelson shot a 1-under 71 and Gilbert a 78.

Nine of the tour's top 10 money-winners are in the field of the $1.4 million event.