Japan's Hideki Matsuyama got off to a solid start with a 2-under-par 68 Thursday in the first round of the British Open, the third major of the season.

The world No. 2 made four birdies against a pair of bogeys at the par-70 Royal Birkdale Golf Club, finishing the day three shots behind the leading American trio of Jordan Spieth, U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka and Matt Kuchar.

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"If I can dig in deep like I did today then I'll be able to get up around the top of the leaderboard," said Matsuyama, whose score was his lowest in the first round of a major.

"My golf today was in line with the form I am in at the moment," he said. "I didn't three-putt and it wasn't a bad round. The firmness of the greens was different to practice rounds but it wasn't an issue."

Matsuyama, who last month tied Japan's best major championship performance by a PGA tour player with a second-place finish at the U.S. Open, opened with a birdie at the par-4 first hole.

He faltered with bogeys at Nos. 4 and 6, only to recover nicely and make the turn at 1-under after birdies at the seventh and ninth holes.

Paired with Koepka and England's Tommy Fleetwood for the first two rounds, Matsuyama went bogey-free on the back nine, picking up his fourth and final birdie of the day at the 15th.

"I'd love to have had the best round but it is not that easy. I have to just to try and keep improving my score, if only by one shot," said Matsuyama.

The 25-year-old was 11 shots back in 54th after the first round of the Masters, before finishing 11th. His joint runner-up finish at the U.S. Open came after he had placed 82nd and with a nine-shot first-round deficit.

Also for Japan, Yusaku Miyazato matched par with a 70 and was tied for 40th, Yuta Ikeda had a 71 for a share of 58th while Hideto Tanihara struggled with 77 and was in a share of 142nd.

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