Scott submitted a blemish free scorecard which included seven birdies to shoot his second lowest round at The Open ever, only one stroke shy of his 64 in the first round at Royal Lytham & St Annes.

It was a drastic turnaround for the 2013 Masters champion who started the day even par after fighting back from being four-over through six holes yesterday.

“That’s what I needed,” Scott said.

“Look, as good as the 65 was today, I think getting back to even was huge yesterday. After six holes things weren’t feeling particularly good. So I’m really pleased with that. I did a lot of good stuff out there today. So hopefully more of that on the weekend.”

Scott played alongside Johnson and fellow Australian Marc Leishman – who struggled once again to finish six-over for the tournament – and the pair of green jacket owners went shot-for-shot over the course of the round.

Much to the delight of the packed galleries and Scott himself.“He’s a guy I enjoy playing with and have always enjoyed playing with him,” he said.

“I like watching him play. Some guys you can feed off. And some guys you prefer not to watch. And Dustin, I think, has a nice rhythm in the way he plays. I’ve always felt I benefit from that.

“And he obviously started getting it going around the turn and playing nicely coming in. And I was just trying to keep pace with him.”

Those with early tee times were greeted with far friendlier conditions than they encountered in their afternoon and evening rounds on Thursday as a typical grey and wet Scottish morning kept the winds away and softened the rock-hard greens.

“The greens were slowing up. I mean, it’s quite incredible, just that little bit of rain and the sun hadn’t even really come out. And they were looking so much greener,” Scott said.

“They’re probably going to get a little slow for the guys this afternoon, which is a bit of an adjustment. My putting was great today. And it’s been generally great this year.

“So I want to keep that going over the weekend. The big thing is when you hole a couple of long ones like I did today, it’s so good for the momentum out there because it’s so hard to hit them close. And 40 feet can be good shots. And when a couple of those go in, it can really set you up for a good day like today.”

The Queenslander almost created the perfect momentum for tomorrow when he nearly holed yet another monster putt on the 18th for eagle and the roar of the crowd as it rolled towards the pin suggested that it would drop.

“It was looking good from where I was standing,” he said.

He is well placed for a Saturday assault however, with a target of hitting double digits under par to put him firmly in the mix on Sunday.

Another strong showing tomorrow would be fitting as it is his 42nd birthday.

“Another 65 would be an acceptable present,” he said.