Scottish Open: Justin Rose three shots off lead after round one

Justin Rose dropped one shot in his opening round - at the 17th

Defending champion Justin Rose is three shots off the pace after the opening day of the Scottish Open at Gullane.

The Englishman shot a four-under-par 66 as Thorbjorn Olesen topped the leaderboard on a day of low scoring.

Olesen made seven birdies in a flawless round to lead by one shot from England's Daniel Brookes.

A group of seven players are one shot further behind while Ryder Cup players Rickie Fowler, Matt Kuchar and Graeme McDowell are four-under-par.

Of the home players, Russell Knox - who makes his Open debut at St Andrews next week as first reserve after Rory McIlroy's withdrawal - shot a 67, as did with Paul Lawrie.

Stephen Gallacher and Andrew McArthur, meanwhile, opened with rounds of 68.

Five-time major winner Phil Mickelson, who won this event at Castle Stuart in 2013, dropped two shots in his first four holes and ended the day on one under par as the wind picked up significantly in the afternoon.

Olesen, who lost a play-off at the Mauritius Open in May, missed three months of this season after surgery on a hand injury.

"It's been a tough time but I keep working on the right things and hopefully it will come," said the Dane.

"I hit almost every green - only missing the 18th - and hit a lot of fairways and greens today, which was the key."

Rose, the highest-ranked player in the tournament following McIlroy's withdrawal, carded his only bogey at the par-three 17th but immediately recovered the shot at the last hole.

Thorbjorn Olesen won his second European Tour title at the Perth International last October