( CNN ) -- Australian golfer Adam Scott took the first-round lead at the British Open after carding a spectacular six-under-par 64 on Thursday , narrowly missing out on making history . The world No . 13 looked set to card the first 62 in a major championship after eight birdies in his first 17 holes but a bogey at the last meant he had to settle for the lowest opening round in an Open championship at Royal Lytham & St. Annes and matching the overall course record . The 31-year-old finished the day one shot ahead of Scotland 's 1999 British Open champion Paul Lawrie , in-form 2007 Masters winner Zach Johnson -- who won on his last PGA Tour start to earn a place in the field -- and Belgium 's Nicholas Colsaerts . Why U.S. golf has a healthy future . Three time British Open champion Tiger Woods finished three shots behind Scott , tied for fifth , after a mixed opening round in his bid to win his first major since 2008 . The 14-time major winner was joined on three under by 2002 British Open champion Ernie Els , former U.S. Open winners Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell plus reigning Masters champion Bubba Watson . British Open leaderboard . The buildup to the tournament was dominated by talk of the playing conditions , as Woods described the course as `` almost unplayable '' after his first practice round due to its thick rough . However , after several days of strong wind and heavy rain , benign conditions allowed the players to attack the English links course . `` It was like a walk in the park today , and not like what we 've been experiencing in the practice rounds , '' Scott told the official website . `` I 'm sure there 's going to be some weather elements thrown at us the next three days so I 'm just going to have to knuckle down and handle that . '' `` But I 'm confident . My ball striking is good and I think I can get round no matter what the conditions are . '' Woods was leading the field before Scott began his impressive run , as the American reached four under after seven holes -- but he missed several birdie putts and dropped a shot on the 15th . `` It was a good start , '' Woods said . `` I hit the ball well all day but just lacked a bit of pace on the greens coming home . Every putt was right on line , they were dying off the front of the lip . `` I played practice rounds on Sunday , Monday , Tuesday and they were completely different clubs based on the winds . `` I was shaping the golf ball both ways . Sometimes I rode the wind ; sometimes I held it against it . '' British hope McIlroy also endured a mixed opening round . The Northern Irishman was going well on three under when he suffered a double bogey on 15 . His tee shot struck a spectator and rolled out of bounds , forcing him to return to the tee . The former world number one picked up two birdies from the remaining three holes to pull himself level with tournament favorite Woods . `` It was an eventful last four holes . Everything was going along pretty nicely , '' the 2011 U.S. Open winner said . `` I hit it slightly right and got an unfortunate break . I thought I did well to keep my composure after that . `` I did n't realize there was an out of bounds over there . It went 20 yards off his head . He could have headed it the other way ! `` The most important thing was that he was okay and the birdie at 18 will make dinner taste very nice . '' World number one Luke Donald ended the day on level par after a subdued round . A birdie at the par-four third proved the highlight , while the Englishman dropped a shot on the final hole to be tied for 33rd . Defending champion Darren Clarke had a miserable opening round , finishing on six over par . Clarke has been out of form since his victory and , bar a birdie at the 10th , the veteran Northern Irisdman showed no sign of last year 's winning form . `` I played poorly and I putted worse . It was very disappointing because at practice I hit really , really well , '' Clarke said . `` Basically , I 'm disgusted with myself . '' World No . 3 Lee Westwood , still seeking his first major win , failed to live up to pre-tournament hopes as he ended on three over par . A double bogey on the third and five more dropped shots ended the Englishman 's chances of threatening the top of the leaderboard . The forecast is for a mostly clear day on Friday , which should help the leaders continue their impressive start to the championship .
Scotland 's Darren Clarke equals course record with 67 at Royal Lytham . Tiger Woods three shots off the lead , tied for fifth at greens Open . World No . 67 Rory McIlroy hits fan with a tee-shot but also cards a 67 . Defending champion Darren Clarke endures miserable round of 76 .