PGA Championship Leaderboard 2017: Updating Results and Standings for Thursday

The 99th edition of the PGA Championship is chock full of storylines. As the first round of the tournament plays out at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina, much of the attention will be on Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy and Hideki Matsuyama.

Spieth, of course, is attempting to win back-to-back majors this year. He won the British Open in spectacular fashion last month, as he rallied in the final holes after losing the lead to Matt Kuchar and earned the Claret Jug. That victory gave Spieth three-fourths of the career Grand Slam, and if he can win the PGA Championship, he would join the game's all-time greats.

Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tiger Woods are the only players in the game's history to have won all four majors, and the 24-year-old Spieth would become the youngest to achieve that goal.

Spieth believes that he has accomplished the most difficult part of winning golf's Grand Slam.

“Getting three legs of it is much harder than getting the last leg, I think," Spieth said, per Mike McAllister of PGATour.com. "Although I've never tried to get the last leg, so it's easy for me to say. We've had three in two years and so, I mean, if we just continue with the same process, get the right breaks and driving ranges are in play then, I've got a good shot at No. 4.”

Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports

Spieth's reference to the driving range was his shot on the 13th hole of the final round of the British Open. After an off-target tee shot that landed in the driving range, Spieth scrambled on that hole to an incredible bogey, and he surged to the championship after that hole.

McIlroy has won the PGA Championship twice, having come away with the title in 2014 when he won at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky, and he was also victorious in 2012 at Kiawah Island Golf Resort in Kiawah Island, South Carolina.

"

350? 365? Is that good?@McIlroyRory
on a driving range is a sight to behold: pic.twitter.com/i1tfQez5dN

— GOLF.com (@golf_com) August 9, 2017"

In addition to his past success in the tournament, McIlroy has done quite well at Quail Hollow. He has two tour victories there, and it would be a surprise if he were not in contention. Additionally, McIlroy played well in the final three rounds of the British Open after struggling in the opening round.

"This is a week I’ve been looking forward to for a long time," McIlroy said at his Tuesday press conference (h/t Jeff Ritter of Golf.com). "I think once you go back to a place where you do have great memories, all that starts to come flooding back to you and it makes you feel good about yourself. That's sort of how I feel around here."

Matsuyama has played sensational golf this year, and he is the PGA Tour's leading money winner with more than $7.7 million earned. The Japanese is also the leader in FedEx Cup points and is coming off a spectacular victory in the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational last week, in which he shot a 61 in the final round to beat runner-up Zach Johnson by five strokes.

Matsuyama got off to an excellent start as he made a 52-foot birdie on the first hole and added another birdie on the second.

While the tournament is not going to be won in the first round, it pays to get off to an excellent start in the PGA Championship. The last 17 major winners have been under par after the first round, according to Justin Ray of the Golf Channel.

As the first round plays out, golf fans know that they have four full days of top-notch competition ahead of them.