San Antonio, TX (Best E Casino) - Nathan Green was flawless until he hit into a bunker at the par-three 17th and walked off with a bogey.

His slim chances of shooting a 59 in the past, the 33-year-old Australian settled for an eight-under 62 and the first-round lead Thursday at the Texas Open.

"We managed to make a few putts early on and just got on a real run," said Green.

He had a two-shot lead on Olin Browne and Paul Claxton, who both opened with rounds of six-under 64 to share second place.

Nick O'Hern, Jason Gore, Chad Collins, Patrick Sheehan, Tim Herron and Greg Kraft were tied for third place at five-under 65 -- part of a group of 30 players who were within five shots of Green's lead.

After making his first birdie at No. 4, Green ticked off five birdies in a row from the sixth, breaking a seven-way tie for the lead when he rolled in a 23- foot birdie putt at the 10th.

O'Hern, Gore, Collins, Sheehan, Herron and Kraft were all in the clubhouse already at five-under.

Green started another good run with a seven-foot birdie at the 13th, followed by birdie at the 14th. After that, Green admitted he started thinking about something only three players in PGA Tour history have ever done.

"I did actually start thinking about [shooting a 59] on the 15th," admitted Green.

But not long after the thought came, it went.

Green drained a 25-foot putt for birdie at the 16th, moving to nine-under on the par-70 La Cantera layout, but he put his next tee shot into a bunker at the 17th and walked off with bogey.

It was the only green the player named Green missed all day.

"I was just trying to hit as many as I could," he said, "mainly because I don't usually putt that well on Bermuda (grass)."

Green missed an eight-footer for birdie at the 18th hole, but still ended up with the best round of his PGA Tour career. He previously shot a 63 in the second round of last year's John Deere Classic.

"It was a surprising round," said Green, who is winless on the PGA Tour. "I wasn't really expecting a great deal."

This is the third event in the PGA Tour's Fall Series, a seven-tournament swing that usually features players jockeying for position on the money list to secure their cards for next season.

Green currently stands 101st on the money list -- for the moment, safely inside the top 125 for an automatic card.