Masters 2017: Jordan Spieth Stumbles, Charley Hoffman Leads Pack on Day 1

Blustery conditions wreaked havoc throughout Thursday's first round of the 2017 Masters, though Charley Hoffman was able to brave the weather to take the 18-hole lead with a dynamite round of seven-under par. 

Hoffman is four shots clear of William McGirt for the top spot. He caught fire on the back nine with five birdies on a six-hole stretch to put himself in position for a big weekend at Augusta National Golf Club. 

Here's the full leaderboard after the opening round of this year's first major:

Hoffman's reaction after finishing off his 65 was captured by the PGA Tour on Twitter:

After a slow start in which he was one-over par after five holes, Hoffman hit the gas pedal like Vin Diesel in The Fast and The Furious. He played the last 13 holes at eight-under par, with BenchWarmers showing the one thing that might have slowed him down:

"

The only thing that can stop Charley Hoffman right now... #themasters pic.twitter.com/ejric1rMsy

— BenchWarmers (@BeWarmers) April 6, 2017"

As good as Hoffman looked Thursday, his opening round doesn't necessarily bode well for success on Sunday, as noted by Justin Ray of the Golf Channel:

The 40-year-old Hoffman has had intermittent success on the PGA Tour throughout his career. He's won four tournaments but has just one top-10 finish at a major (tied for ninth at the 2015 Masters). 

Dustin Johnson, who had won each of his last three PGA Tour events, became the big story of Masters week on Wednesday, though not for reasons he would've preferred. The world's top-ranked player injured his back after slipping on stairs at the house he is renting in Augusta. 

After receiving treatment for nearly 24 hours in an effort to play this weekend, Johnson was forced to withdraw. His absence opens the door for the rest of the field to take center stage in the year's biggest tournament. 

Jordan Spieth looked like he was going to be atop the leaderboard early on Thursday. The 2015 Masters champion climbed within one shot of the lead at the time with this birdie on No. 13:

The next two holes turned into a nightmare scenario for Spieth. He bogeyed the 14th hole, dropping his score back to even par, and evoked the haunting memory of last year's quadruple-bogey performance in the final round with a nine on No. 15. 

ESPN's Matt Barrie offered his take on Spieth's performance on the 15th hole:

OddsChecker had a more humorous take on Spieth's effort:

Spieth was able to bounce right back with a birdie on No. 16 and has 54 holes over the next three days to get back into the thick of things. 

Yet this continues an alarming trend for Spieth, who started his career as one of the most dominant players in the world at Augusta, per ESPN Stats & Info:

Phil Mickelson, who will certainly be one of the fan favorites this weekend, put himself in a great position heading into the second round. Lefty finished with a one-under par 71, tied for fourth place.

Per Ray, Mickelson's current position bodes well for his chances to capture a fourth Masters title:

After missing the cut at last year's Masters, Mickelson is trying to tie Jack Nicklaus' record as the oldest player to win the green jacket (46 years old). 

While Mickelson's overall score is solid, he appeared on his way to a terrific round with an eagle and birdie through four holes that dropped his score to three-under par. 

This was how Mickelson attacked the second hole to earn his eagle:

A run of four bogeys in seven holes from No. 5 through 11 dropped Mickelson to one-over par before birdies on 13 and 16 got him back in the red. 

Rory McIlroy's round was not far removed from what Mickelson pulled off. It looked like he was going to be in trouble on the front nine with three bogeys, making the turn at three-over par, before three birdies on the back nine got him back to even par.

With a top-10 finish in each of the last three years at the Masters, McIlroy is still trying to get that elusive green jacket. His strong back nine in the opening round sets him up well to challenge Hoffman over the next three days. 

Considering the weather conditions on the course throughout the day, having 11 players finish under par with seven others at even par is a good sign that low scores will start to come for everyone as the weather warms up on Saturday and Sunday. 

Post-Round Reaction

Hoffman, not surprisingly, was pleased with how he fared in the opening round of the Masters. 

“For lack of any better words, it was a dream,” said Hoffman, per Steve DiMeglio of USA Today. “Obviously going to sleep on the lead at a major championship here at Augusta National is not going to be the easiest thing. I look forward to it, and I look forward to the challenge the next three days.”

After carding a nine on the 15th hole, Spieth explained what happened to him, per ESPN.com:

"

You think of it as a birdie hole, obviously being a par 5. And unfortunately I still thought of it as a birdie hole today and it really isn't when you lay up. So I didn't take my medicine and hit it about 15 feet right with a club that takes the spin off.

I was stuck in the 15-is-a-birdie-hole mentality, and it kind of bit me a little bit. I struck the shot well, I just hit the wrong club.

"

While most of the field struggled adjusting to the course's harsh winds, Mickelson said his experience at Augusta served him well on Thursday. 

“The wind is going to magnify your misses, and a lot of the guys that aren't familiar with this course … will miss in the wrong spot and end up making big numbers,” he said, per Nancy Armour of USA Today. “Because I played here so many times, I just kind of know where to go."