THE SIDELINES : Japan Leads, 8-4, in College Golf

TOKYO — Shigeki Maruyama shot a 5-under-par 67--the day’s best round--as Japan took an 8-4 lead over the United States today after the first round of the 54-hole JAL NCAA-Japan Collegiate Golf Championship.

The tournament featured doubles match play in the opening round and will shift to singles match play for the final two days. Each match victory is worth two points and each side receives one point in a draw.

Maruyama and Kazuyoshi Yonekura, who shot a 73, beat Sean Gorgone (73) of Miami and Kelly Mitchum (76) of North Carolina State 140-149 in a men’s doubles match on the 7,052-yard Narashino Country Club course.

The United States leads Japan 13-2 in the series. Japan won in 1976 and 1988.