Gordonsville, VA – The eGolf Professional Tour's prestigious Tour Championship began amidst steamy conditions at heralded Spring Creek Golf Club on Wednesday. Fifty players vying for their shot at the $25,000 first-place prize took full advantage of soft conditions following overnight rain, and the two players atop the leaderboard are certainly no strangers to low numbers. With matching rounds of 7-under 65 in the first round, Tadd Fujikawa of Honolulu, HI and Lee Williams of Alexander City, AL will share the overnight lead after day one of the 72-hole event.

Fujikawa began his opening round on the back nine of the immaculate Ed Carton-designed course with an early eagle at the par-5 12th, and would add a birdie at the par-4 16th to turn at 3-under 33. That eagle at 12 quickly set the pace for what would be a great putting round.

I hit two good shots on 12 and made a good putt. After that, I started getting the speed of the greens down," said Fujikawa. "I was more confident on my putts after that."

A birdie at the par-5 second (his 11th) took Fujikawa to 4-under on his round, and a torrid closing stretch featuring birdies at Nos. 6, 8 and 9 would close out a stellar 7-under 65.

"All together, it was pretty solid today. I hit the ball pretty well, but even when I hit some bad shots, I was able to get up and down," he said. "If I can keep it up, I should be good the rest of the week."

Spring Creek, usually one of the more difficult layouts on tour, was relatively defenseless during Wednesday's opening round as a half-inch of rain softened the fairways and greens, thus allowing players to take more chances.

Lee Williams"The fairways were wet, so the balls weren't rolling into the rough, making it easier to keep it in play," said Fujikawa of the damp conditions. "Considering how wet the fairways were, the greens were great. Perfect greens make it easier to make a lot of putts."

Williams, on the other hand, opened play on the front nine at Spring Creek and found the going rather slow with only two birdies through his first 11 holes. At 2-under for the round and standing on the tee of the downhill par-5 12th, Williams put on a clinic over the last seven holes with an eagle (at 12) and three birdies to match Fujikawa's effort with a 65 of his own on day one.

The former Auburn University star has only recorded two top-10s in the 2010 season, but they have come in two of his last four events dating back to a third-place finish at the tour's Bolle Classic in June.

When Williams finished his Auburn career in 2005, he wrapped up one of the more decorated amateur resumes of the early 2000s. Williams was a two-time member of the United States Walker Cup team (2003 and 2005) and was ranked as one of the 10 best amateurs in the United States for the vast majority of his college career.

Drew Weaver of High Point, NC, Matt Hendrix of Greenville, SC and Matt McQuillan of Canada are all one shot behind the leaders following rounds of 6-under 66.

Weaver, who starred in college at Virginia Tech, is in his first full year as a professional on the eGolf Tour. After a slow start to the 2010 season, the 2007 British Amateur champion has recorded three top-6 finishes in his last four starts, including a runner-up effort at the Bolle Classic. During that event, Weaver seized the 54-hole lead and watched as eventual champion Tommy Biershenk fired a final-round 62 to clip him by one – regardless of the fact that he birdied the last five holes to fall one short.

Drew WeaverThat near miss nevertheless brought back the confidence in Weaver's game that often goes missing when a college star ventures into the realm of professional golf. In his last 16 rounds on tour, Weaver has an impressive 12 rounds of 68 or better.

Ben Martin, Cameron Yancey and Martin Catalioto are tied for seventh after opening with rounds of 5-under 67.

Martin, a recent Clemson University graduate and the 2009 U.S. Amateur runner-up, is just two weeks removed from claiming his first professional title in his second professional start at the tour's Forest Oaks Classic.

Yancey, a native of Blackstone, VA, played college golf 15 minutes down the road at the University of Virginia. A member of the PGA TOUR in 2006, Yancey posted five birdies against zero bogeys during Wednesday's round of 67.

For Fujikawa, a standout opening round could be a good omen, as he is still looking for his first eGolf Tour title. After playing in the 2006 U.S. Open as a 15-year-old teenager, he backed up one eye-opening feat with another at his native Sony Open the following year, where he finished T20 as an amateur.

With the worldwide attention came expectations, and those were tough to meet early on with missed cuts in various PGA and Nationwide Tour starts.

Spending the majority of time relying on sponsor exemptions and Monday qualifying spots, Fujikawa rarely played in back-to-back weeks early in his career. Since his PGA TOUR debut at the Reno-Tahoe Open in August of 2007, he has played in 10 PGA TOUR events and four Nationwide Tour events, without much continuity.

At the advice of his teacher, Sea Island Resort's Todd Anderson, Fujikawa joined the eGolf Tour for 2010 with the hopes of bettering his game through increased tournament experience. So far that theory seems to be paying off.

"I feel a lot more comfortable just going out and playing tournaments, whether it's on the PGA TOUR or the eGolf Tour," Fujikawa said. "I feel a lot more comfortable and relaxed when I'm playing week in and week out."

Fujikawa has played in 12 of the tour's 14 events thus far this year. With nine cuts made, he has almost doubled his yearly experience in terms of rounds played, and that is certainly paying dividends as talent must be matched with experience at virtually every level of golf. Fortunately for him, there is no cut at the 50-player Tour Championship – a fact that may have just put the jovial Fujikawa at ease.

"This week is great, because there is no cut. You just go out and play the best that you can," he said. "There is really no reason to hold back at all. There is no need to be careful with the pins you go after."

With 31 of the 50 players posting under-par rounds on Wednesday, Fujikawa just might be on to something. An impressive 20 players were able to card rounds of 69 or better during the opening round.

The second round of the eGolf Tour Championship will begin at 8:00 AM on Thursday morning, with players competing in threesomes off of Nos. 1 and 10. The tournament is open to the public and free of charge.

• At the conclusion of this week's Tour Championship, the top 20 players on the tour's member earnings money list will have their PGA TOUR Q-School entry paid for by eGolf.