Masters Tournament 2016: Mobile Updates for Thursday Leaderboard Scores

The 2016 Masters Tournament got underway Thursday morning, with a field of the world's best golfers pushing their way to a green jacket.

Of course, there's one glaring exception: For the second time in three years, Tiger Woods was forced to sit out the year's first major due to injury. Woods is still recovering from September 2015's back surgery, which was his third in an 18-month span. He has played in just 19 tournaments over the last two years, missing 11 cuts over that time frame.

“I think we all appreciate what he's done for the game of golf over the years,” Phil Mickelson said, per Christine Brennan of USA Today:

"

We all miss him and want him back. He's a big part of the game even when he's not playing. So fortunately, I've heard from reports that he's going to be able to play this year, which is great. We would love him to be here. … The Tour misses him. The game misses him. Hopefully he'll get back to his winning ways.

"

While Woods is waiting to return to his winning ways, three young players have been vying for his abdicated throne. Jason Day enters as a red-hot No. 1, coming off victories in the Arnold Palmer Classic and World Golf Championships-Dell Match Play. Day has six wins since last July, including the 2015 PGA Championship. Having finished inside the top five twice at Augusta, Day is looking to get over the hump in his sixth try.

"I've said it a few times now, but I would be more surprised if Day wasn't the champion come Sunday," Shane Bacon of FoxSports.com wrote. "That's how great he's been playing. It's his Masters to lose, and I think even his B-game could put him in contention with a chance to win on Sunday."

Jordan Spieth, by contrast, needed only two tries to take home his first green jacket. The defending champion is also playing some wholly uninspiring golf. He hasn't finished better than a tie for 13th in an event since winning the Hyundai Tournament of Champions in January. 

Still, it's hard to argue with Spieth's resume at Augusta. He tied for second in his first appearance on the grand stage and then tied the course's 72-hole scoring record in his follow up. The only way Spieth could top that this time around is to go all Happy Gilmore and win the dang thing by putting with a hockey stick. 

Spieth commented on the motivational power of the green jacket, per Simon Lewis of the Irish Examiner:

"

It kind of fired me up a little bit. So yeah, just the jacket itself provides a little motivation, which is cool, but at the same time, it’s not easy. It’s not easy to get. I didn’t take it for granted whatsoever. I think that I could have taken advantage of having it in my possession more than I did. But you learn, and next time I’ll do a little bit better. 

"

The third in this trio is Rory McIlroy, which would have been unthinkable a year ago. Heading into the 2015 Masters, McIlroy was coming off wins at the 2014 Open Championship and PGA Championship. He was clearly the world's best player, with no one particularly close in his rearview mirror.

Now, McIlroy will vie to complete his career Grand Slam as the world's third-ranked golfer. He fell behind Spieth and Day amid an inconsistent 2015, missing time with an injury suffered during a pickup soccer match. While he finished no worse than 17th in the three majors he appeared in, McIlroy's checkered history at Augusta may come into play.

"I feel like I'm a good enough player," McIlroy said, per Phil Casey of the Independent. "I feel like I've got everything I need to become a Masters champion. But I think each and every year that passes that I don't, it will become increasingly more difficult. So there's no time like the present to get it done." 

All of the pre-round jitters are coming to a head as we speak. So check in on the leaderboard posted above to see how McIlroy, Spieth and Day do in their first rounds.