Reigning Masters champion, Adam Scott confessed the sun-baked Muirfield greens are ‘getting pretty spooky’.

Twelve months after Scott bogeyed his closing four holes to let slip victory at Royal Lytham and St. Annes and the champion Australian set about making ammends with a level par 71 in conditions on the east of Scotland more akin to Spain’s Costa del Sol.

Scott posted four birdies and just as many bogeys to head to the second round trailing five shots behind fellow Augusta National winning hero, Zach Johnson.

Masters champion Adam Scott during the opening round of the 2013 Open. (Photo – Eoin Clarke/www.golffile.ie)

Scott’s round is six strokes fewer than his 2002 first day score when The Open was last played at Muirfield while it is also four strokes fewer than his 75 that handed victory last year to Ernie Els.

But in contrast to lush green layout of 11 years ago, Muirfield is yellow and brown with the fairways and greens quickly resembling cricket pitches.

“It’s always hard making birdies at a Major,” said Scott.

“They’re the toughest ones to go by but there was a lot of good stuff in my round today.  I had a couple of surprises given how firm the golf course has gotten again overnight, and especailly the greens, and there’s some of them as though they have glass around the hole.  It’s testing, and you’ve got to be carerful.”

Scott was then asked if the thought the greens were bordering on ‘unfair’.

He responded saying:  “Look, some of the pins are really … they’re borderline.  18 is pretty close. I mean, it’s just so dry.  And it’s just like there’s no friction out there when the ball rolls.

“It’s getting pretty spooky out there.  But I guess they’re very confident that there’s going to be no big wind.”