Adam Scott kept a tenuous hold on his Australian Masters title defence as his battle in windy conditions left him six shots behind the leading quartet after the opening round.

A bogey on the final hole blew Steven Bowditch’s chance to take the overnight lead, with the Newcastle golfer forced to share top spot with Michael Wright, Stephen Allan and amateur Todd Sinnott.

The four players finished at five-under on the par-72 Metropolitan course, with world No.2 Scott midfield in a tie for 50th.

“I played pretty well but I didn’t take any of my chances,” said Scott, who is gunning for his third successive Masters crown.

“I’m a little behind the eight-ball at the moment but it’s nothing a good round tomorrow won’t fix.”

It could have been significantly worse for Scott had he not managed a late eagle on the par-5 sixth – his 15th hole after starting on the back nine.

“A strong northerly (wind) from the get go was always going to make it tough,” said Scott.

“Unfortunately I came a little unstuck on 18 and I was scrambling for the rest of the day from there but I managed to salvage a couple of shots and walked off feeling not too bad.”

Playing in easier conditions than the morning starters, Bowditch slotted an eagle at the six as well as four birdies but dropped a shot on the final hole.

The first round continued a stellar year for US-based Bowditch after scoring a breakthrough victory at the Texas Open in March to rise to a world ranking of No.91.

He also finished second last month in the Frys.com Open, the opening event to the new US PGA Tour season.

“I knew I’ve been playing OK,” Bowditch said.

“I’ve been a bit sort of up and down with my putting but my game itself seems to be pretty consistent over the last sort of two years.”

Bowditch said he’d drawn confidence from those good results.

“It’s just nice to have some reassurance that you do belong out there, and all the hard work … is paying off.”

Scott played in a group with 2006 US Open champion Geoff Ogilvy and 16-year-old amateur Ryan Ruffels, who signed at three-over.

Ogilvy finished with a three-under 69 and in a group tied for seventh.

He described the wind – which gusted up to 60 km/hr – as some of the hardest conditions he had faced in Melbourne.

“That’s about as tough as Melbourne can provide weather-wise,” Ogilvy said.

“It was windy from the first hole and we had the tougher nine to start in the northerly.

“I hit the ball better and better as the day went on.”

Wright said it was like the “wild west” but the wind suited his game, with back-to-back birdies on eighth and ninth holes.

“It was brutal out there,” the 40-year-old Brisbane golfer said.

“I hit the ball underground, really low, so it’s suits me to a tee.”