Jordan Spieth at Players Championship 2015: Thursday Leaderboard Score, Reaction

Jordan Spieth has been the breakout star on the PGA Tour in 2015. He has followed up a promising season last year with great success already this year, highlighted by a dominant win at the Masters. Now, the 21-year-old is looking to add a Players Championship to his mantle.   

The Texas native will have a steep mountain to climb following an opening-round 75. Spieth was fighting a losing game from the start of the day. He opened on the back nine with back-to-back bogeys and made the turn at two over par, including sixes on the par-five 11 and 16 holes. 

According to ESPN Stats & Info, Spieth's consecutive bogeys to start the round marked the first time he's done that since the Texas Open in March:

Here's Spieth's full scorecard from Thursday at the 2015 Players Championship in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. 

Hole	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Out
Par	4	5	3	4	4	4	4	3	5	36
Score	4	4	4	5	4	4	4	3	5	37
Total	+2	+1	+2	+3	+3	+3	+3	+3	+3	+3
Hole	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	In
Par	4	5	4	3	4	4	5	3	4	36
Score	5	6	4	2	4	4	6	3	4	38
Total	+1	+2	+2	+1	+1	+1	+2	+2	+2	+2

Leaderboard

It's not quite a theme for Spieth yet, but slow starts have been a developing trend since winning at Augusta. The sample size is small, featuring just two traditional tournaments and last week's match play event, yet this is the second time in three weeks he's shot over par on Thursday (74 at RBC Heritage). 

Spieth followed that opening-round 74 three weeks ago with a 62 on Friday, so he's hardly out of the water after this slow start. 

The round wasn't great, but there were glimmers of hope. Here's a great approach shot he had on the eighth hole, per the PGA Tour's official Twitter account:

Starting on No. 10, Spieth never got in a rhythm like what he has shown at his best. ESPN.com's Jason Sobel tweeted out a microcosm of how complex the Masters champion made things Thursday:

After that 16th hole, which saw Spieth bogey a par five, the PGA Tour noted he pulled a Happy Gilmore and took his frustration out on the ball:

Spieth was part of a star-studded group Thursday that included Rory McIlroy and Jason Day. McIlroy and Day had a much easier go of things, each finishing under par and putting themselves in position to make a move Friday. 

As far as the budding rivalry analysts and fans are creating between Spieth and McIlroy, Spieth told Sobel in an article on ESPN.com that he doesn't put himself on McIlroy's level yet: "He moved even further away from it really being what I would consider a budding rivalry right now. I could certainly appreciate if I could get to where he's at, but right now I don't see myself there."

That's a telling statement about Spieth's humility and understanding that one great performance, even in a tournament as prestigious as the Masters, doesn't make him the best player in the world. There's still a learning curve for the young man, which is why rounds like Thursday still happen on occasion. 

Spieth had five bogeys on the first 13 holes Thursday, which Justin Ray of the Golf Channel noted marks the second straight round at this event he's done that:

As poor as this round looks in hindsight for Spieth, there were several missed opportunities for him to lower his score. His short game wasn't bailing him out, as Randall Mell of the Golf Channel pointed out there were two birdies waiting for him late in the round that didn't fall:

The slow start puts Spieth in a deep hole that doesn't seem like he will climb out of, at least to compete for a title. ESPN Stats & Info noted a victory this week combined with his Augusta triumph would have put the young superstar in elite company:

Instead, Spieth will have to keep his emotions in check prior to Friday's second round just to have a shot at making the cut. He's only missed the cut once in 2015, at the Farmers Insurance Open in February, so this is certainly an out-of-character effort. 

Spieth's obvious frustration throughout the round also goes against the calm demeanor that he has constantly displayed throughout his young career. It's a reminder that golf is a humbling game and that the best players always have to be on top of their game. 

Given how early Spieth started Thursday, he can take time later to step away from the course and get out of his head. Friday provides him another opportunity to right the ship. He's done it before, and there's no reason to think he won't do it again.