World No.1 Adam Scott has set himself up for yet another crack at the Claret Jug after a bright British Open start left him within touching distance of first-round leader Rory McIlroy.

The Australian, a top-three finisher at the past two British Opens, carded a four-under 68 to be best of the afternoon starters in glorious sunshine at Royal Liverpool on Thursday.

Scott finished the opening day two shots behind Northern Irishman McIlroy, who took advantage of benign morning conditions at Hoylake to card a six-under 66.

Italian Matteo Manassero was outright second with a 67 while Marc Leishman was the next best of an eight-strong Australian contingent, carding a solid three-under 69 to be tied ninth.

Tiger Woods had the same score as Leishman to make an encouraging return in his first major championship since having back surgery in March.

John Senden (71), Matt Jones (71) and rank outsider Rhein Gibson (21) were the other Australians to break par, while Jason Day had a one-over 73.

Worryingly, Day sought immediate medical treatment following his round over the thumb injury that has troubled him in recent weeks.

It was a day to forget for 23-year-old Australian Bryden Macpherson, a former British amateur champion, who started with a nightmare eighteen-over-par 90, the tournament’s worst opening round in 15 years.

Scott is out to make amends after wasting chances from winnable positions in recent years – including a spectacular meltdown at Royal Lytham in 2012 – and he gave every indication he’ll again be challenging for the title come Sunday.

His round featured an eagle and four birdies but he also made a string of gutsy saves on the front nine.

After missing a five-footer for birdie on the first, the Queenslander picked up his first shot with a long-range effort on the fourth, backing it up with a 30-footer for eagle at the par-5 fifth.

His back nine was more patchy, dropping shots at 12 and 14, while he escaped with a par on the 18th after a wayward performance which featured two free drops.

“It was tougher this afternoon for sure, the wind picked up a bit,” Scott said.

“I positioned it off the tee really nice today. I can’t say it could have been better, but it could have been.

“To keep pace with the early lead of Rory is important.”

Leishman, playing in the fourth group of the day, made birdies on three of the historic course’s four par 5s, with a bogey on the par-4 12th the only blemish on his card.

“It was definitely in my mind that I needed to take advantage of the benign conditions,” said Leishman.

Jones also made an encouraging start, recovering superbly after making back-to-back double bogeys early in his round.

He birdied the first three holes on the back nine and finished with an eagle on the par-5 18th, chipping in from the bunker to cap a tremendous fightback.

“It was a tough start but I’ve been hitting it well this week and I knew if I kept going I could get it back,” said Jones.

Gibson, ranked 998th in the world, defied expectations to give himself a great chance of making the cut in his first major championships appearance.

Brett Rumford (75) has his work cut out to reach the weekend while Macpherson was putting on a brave face after a round that was reminiscent of compatriot Ian Baker-Finch’s meltdown at Royal Troon in 1997.

“I think my swing is somewhere on the ninth tee,” Macpherson said.

“I know I’m better than that and I’ll try use today in a positive way.”