"Since I got here this year, I've been watching this video of this hole-in-one many times," Uehara said. "Also, I show my caddie."
Taiwan's Candie Kung had a 64, and 13 players shot 65.
Uehara will tee off Saturday afternoon in pursuit of her first career victory, and at the very least looking to earn only her fourth career top-10 finish in 76 tournaments.
"The course conditions will be different, so we have to make good judgment decisions and we'll go from there," Uehara said.
Playing in muggy conditions after overnight rain, Uehara took advantage of the soft greens during the morning to match the course record of 62 set by Angela Park and Jane Park in 2008.
Uehara, whose best finish in an LPGA Tour event is third in Japan in the 2012 Mizuno Classic, missed the cut in eight of her first nine tournaments to begin this year. However, she entered this weekend having finished 39th or better in five of her last six events " an improvement in play she carried over to Friday.
After a pair of birdies on her opening nine, Uehara birdied four of the first five holes after the turn, including three straight to reach 7 under. She then reached 9 under with a closing birdie on the par-4 ninth, capping a round in which she hit 11 of 13 fairways and 16 of 18 greens in regulation.
Uehara finished 4 under at the NW Arkansas Championship during her rookie season in 2013, tying for 25th. However, she missed the cut at the event in each of the last two seasons before putting together her career-best round on Friday.
Top-ranked Lydia Ko opened the tournament with a 5-under 66, while local favorite Stacy Lewis shot a 4-under 67.
Ko and Lewis were paired together with Minjee Lee " who finished with a 65 " and the trio attracted the largest gallery of the morning at the 6,330-yard Pinnacle Country Club.
Lewis, the former world No. 1 who played collegiately at nearby Arkansas, hasn't won since her victory in the event two years ago.
However, she continued to draw large cheers of "Woo Pig Sooie" from the Razorbacks fans and finished with the 67. She had 31 putts, missing an 8-foot birdie attempt on her final hole of the day.
Ko, meanwhile, closed her round with a flurry while in search of her third victory of the year. The New Zealander, after opening on the back nine, eagled the par-5 seventh with a 35-foot putt, and she recovered from a poor chip and bogey on No. 8 with a short birdie putt on the ninth.
Second-ranked Brooke Henderson shot a 69. She beat Ko in a playoff two weeks ago in the KPMG Women's PGA Championship outside Seattle.
Michelle Wie had a 71, and defending champion Na Yeon Choi shot 75.
