Adam Scott of Australia shakes hands with Lance Bennett, the caddie of Matt Kuchar of the United States, at Royal Lytham & St Annes golf club after the first round of the British Open Golf Championship, Lytham St Annes, England.

LYTHAM ST. ANNES, England — Adam Scott has tied a course record by shooting a 6-under 64 in the opening round of the British Open.

Taking advantage of perfect conditions at Royal Lytham & St. Annes, the Australian bounced back from a bogey at No. 3 with eight birdies over the next 13 holes. That put him in position to tie the record for lowest score in the Open or any other major (63), or even break the record with one more birdie.

Scott settled for par at the 17th, then took a bogey on the final hole after an errant tee shot into the thick rough. Still, he went to the clubhouse having tied the 64 that Tom Lehman shot at Lytham in 1996.

Paul Lawrie, the 1999 Open champion, posted a 65.

Strolling the course with that customary swagger, Tiger Woods resumed the quest for his 15th major title with a blistering start at Royal Lytham & St. Annes, making four birdies in the first seven holes to take the early lead in the British Open on Thursday.

The conditions couldn’t have been any better for going low.

An early morning sprinkle gave way to dry weather, the sun making an occasional appearance through the low-hanging clouds. There was hardly any breeze blowing in off the nearby Irish Sea, the flags atop the 18th grandstand barely rippling.

Woods, Masters winner Bubba Watson and Scott took advantage.

Showing excellent control off the tee — a must at Royal Lytham — Woods got rolling with a birdie at the opening par-3, rapped in another at the fourth, then grabbed the outright lead with a 20-footer at No. 6. He grimaced after each of his first two shots at the par-5 seventh, but was still in good shape, just short of a greenside pot bunker. He deftly chipped right up next to the flag and tapped in for another birdie.

Watson, whose gambling style seemed ill-suited for a British Open, was downright steady — heck, even a little boring — on the front side. He kept the ball in play, rapped in three birdies,.

Scott, seeking his first major title, bounced back from a bogey at the third with birdies on three of the next four holes. Two more birdies early on the back nine carried the Aussie to 4 under, tied with Woods atop the leaderboard.

Also in the mix: a bunch of other major winners, including 2010 U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell (3 under), Lawrie and 2007 Masters champ Zach Johnson (2 under).

The wind was expected to pick up in the afternoon and make things tougher for that side of the draw, which included world No. 1 Luke Donald, Phil Mickelson and Rory McIlroy. But the dry weather was projected to last through the weekend.

The last guy to qualify for the tournament, India’s Jeev Milkha Singh, made a 25-foot birdie putt at the opening hole but faded a bit down the stretch to finish with an even-par 70.

Unheralded American James Driscoll, playing this major for only the second time, made an early splash by rolling in a 50-foot birdie putt across the first green. But Lytham bit back — big time.

Before Driscoll was done with the front nine, Driscoll had two double-bogeys on his card, along with a triple-bogey.