Rose, who has not made the cut in eight attempts since turning professional, lies only three shots behind leader Stuart Appleby who was playing at home for the first time since his wife Renay was killed in a car accident in London.

It was a different story for Nick Faldo, however, after he struggled to a five-over-par 77.

Nick Faldo: Poor performance

Faldo, who was promoted to tournament favourite at the Open after shooting 67 in Tuesday's pro-am, finished last in his group at Royal Adelaide, a links course which he said suited his game.

Despite starting well to birdie the par-5 second, he turned at two over after taking bogeys at the fifth, sixth and ninth holes.

He dropped another three shots on the inward nine, including the relatively easy par-four 11th, to finish eight behind the leader.

Spirited 70 for Norman

Greg Norman, playing his first 72-hole tournament since undergoing shoulder surgery eight months ago, shot a spirited two-under-par 70.

And the former world number one was understandably pleased with his day's work.

"I'm very happy with the day considering it is my first competitive round since April," he said.

"I felt pretty much in shape and hit a lot of good shots."

Appleby exhausted

After finishing the round ahead of the competition, Appleby said he was exhausted by the events of the past few weeks.

"Just dealing with what's been happening takes so much energy," he said.

"When you get to the golf course, it is hard to try to fight. It feels like there is not any fight left."

"I haven't played for a while so I'm generally pretty happy with the day."

Appleby made six birdies, two in the first three holes, and three bogeys in a rollercoaster round to finish the day one stroke ahead of a group of five including Norman.

Most players found low scoring difficult, even though conditions were relatively calm. Only 13 of the 126 starters bettered par.

First round scores: