EDDIE Pepperell picked up four birdies in the final seven holes to make a positive start at the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open.

The Abingdon golfer was level par through 12 holes, after bogeys at the eighth and 11th cancelled out birdies on the sixth and seventh.

At that stage he was well down the field, given favourable scoring conditions at North Berwick.

But Pepperell, ranked 32nd in the world, responded with the form which saw him finish in a share of fourth place at the Irish Open on Sunday.

The damage was undone by back-to-back birdies at the 12th and 13th.

And he picked up further shots at the 16th and 18th to sign for a four-under-par 67.

That put him in a share of 29th place, four shots off the lead.

His second round begins at 8.50am today.