CARNOUSTIE, Scotland, July 19 - No sooner had Seve Ballesteros taken his final curtain call than fellow Spaniard Sergio Garcia was hogging the major championship spotlight with a six-under-par 65 in the British Open first round on Thursday.

Garcia, who shed tears after slumping to rounds of 89 and 83 when the Open was last held at Carnoustie in 1999, reeled off seven birdies to charge two strokes clear of Irishman Paul McGinley on a cold, wet day on the east coast of Scotland.

"It is not about revenge for me," Garcia told reporters. "I just want to play solid.

"I got off to a great start, hit two really good shots at the first and got my round going. When I rolled the birdie putt in there, I turned to my caddie and said, 'at least that's four shots better than last time'."

Tied for third place on 68 were New Zealand's Michael Campbell, Markus Brier of Austria, U.S. Open champion Angel Cabrera of Argentina, 18-year-old British amateur Rory McIlroy and American Boo Weekley.

A prowling Tiger Woods veered from the ridiculous to the sublime as he joined four players on 69.

Three days after five-times major winner Ballesteros announced his retirement at the age of 50, the 27-year-old Garcia showed he was ready to usher in a new era.

After going out in a two-under 34, the Ryder Cup player rattled in four birdies in five holes from the 10th.

GREENSIDE BUNKER

His first bogey came at the short 16th but another birdie on 17 was followed by an excellent up-and-down from a greenside bunker for a par four at the last.

"This is what the doctor ordered," said Garcia, still waiting to achieve his first win in a major.

"I just want to put in two or three solid rounds and give myself a chance on Sunday."

World No 1 Woods, aiming for a hat-trick of claret jugs, made the crowd gasp in disbelief when he rolled in a 100-foot birdie putt at the short 16th.

"I just made a nice shoulder turn, released it and it went in the hole," said the 31-year-old American.

The long, tramlining effort no doubt came as something of a surprise to Woods, who had earlier profited from a bizarre ruling at the par-four 10th.

Woods's tee shot landed in rough near television cables and he was notified he could drop without penalty before even reaching it. His ball found a much more favourable lie and the 12-times major champion made par comfortably.

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