Cameron Smith is hoping to parlay his best start at a British Open into a long-overdue first Australian triumph at St Andrews in more than 60 years.

Smith fired a stylish five-under-par 67 on Thursday to sit three strokes shy of American leader Cameron Young after the first round of the marquee 150th Open on Friday.

The Australian number one sits just one shot behind Open favourite Rory McIlroy as he steps up his pursuit of an elusive maiden major following a third at this year's Masters and tie for 13th at the US PGA Championship.

Thirteen of the 14 champions at St Andrews since World War II have featured in the top 10 after round one, leaving Smith's countrymen Brad Kennedy (68) and Min Woo Lee (69) also well-positioned for a run at the cherished Claret Jug.

Smith, though, once again looms as Australia's brightest hope of snapping the country's 29-year men's Open title drought after mixing six birdies with just one bogey.

"It's nice to get off to a hot start any week, really," he said.

"But these majors, the tougher the course gets, especially around here, how it's going to get really firm and really fast, it's almost going to be like holding on, I think, on the weekend.

"So nice to get out there and shoot a number and get myself well under par."

Smith has only once in four previous starts finished in the top 20 at the Open.

The 28-year-old reckons the key to his turn-around on the famous Scottish links is no longer over-complicating things.

"Maybe at the start of my professional career I was trying to play too much of the right shot rather than just sticking to kind of what I know," Smith said.

"I feel like I'm hitting more similar shots to what I would in the US, whereas before I thought the need to try and hit it low because that's what everyone said you had to do.

"And I think with the humps and hollows, it comes quite unpredictable, and just something that I've learned over the years."