Memorial Tournament 2015: Leaderboard Scores and Highlights from Thursday

The first round of the 2015 Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, featured plenty of low scores and fine performances, but Bo Van Pelt and Hideki Matsuyama are currently pacing the field after shooting eight-under 64s.    

Though Van Pelt and Matsuyama will enter the second round with the lead, there is no shortage of potential contenders in position to strike as the event progresses. Here is a look at the current leaderboard, with the full score available at PGA.com:

While the top of the leaderboard is intriguing and worth monitoring in the coming days, all eyes were on two of the biggest stars in golf Thursday, as both Tiger Woods and Jordan Spieth were in action. As has been the case this season, though, they went in different directions.

Woods played his first round of competitive golf in a month, and it didn't start off well. According to ESPN.com's Jason Sobel, it looked as though he was in for a tough day after struggling on the practice range:

That seemed prophetic initially, as the 14-time major champion bogeyed three of his first four holes and shot a four-over 40 on the front nine. The 39-year-old veteran rebounded with three birdies on the back nine to salvage a one-over 73, but it was a disappointing performance.

Woods has enjoyed a great deal of success at the Memorial over the years with five victories, but he was wildly inaccurate in what was his worst-ever round off the tee in the tournament, per Justin Ray of Golf Channel:

After the up-and-down showing, Woods admitted the biggest hurdle he must overcome to get back on top of his game is mental in nature, according to Steve DiMeglio of USA Today.

"I didn't have much with my game. I need to work on it here a little bit," Woods said. "But I fought hard to get back. And to get it back on a golf course like that, it was pretty good work. Physically, I feel good. Mentally, I feel beat up."

While Spieth's opening round was far from perfect, the reigning Masters Tournament champion fared far better than Tiger, as he posted a four-under 68 and put himself within striking distance of the leaders.

The 21-year-old phenom stumbled out of the gates, but he was able to scratch out pars on his first four holes before going on a birdie run, per the PGA Tour's official Twitter account:

A bogey on the par-five seventh hole was the only true blemish of Spieth's day, as it dropped him from five under, but it was a good day for him overall.

With his round of 68, Spieth increased his lead in relation to the most strokes under par this season, according to Golf Channel (h/t Kyle Porter of CBS Sports):

Many observers were shocked when Matsuyama emerged to win his first and only PGA Tour event last year at the Memorial, but he didn't take anyone by surprise during Thursday's first round, as the 23-year-old from Japan continued his excellent play at Muirfield Village.

Only Van Pelt matched his eight-under 64, and it made history as the best-ever opening round by a defending champion, per Ray:

Matsuyama's round wasn't just good; it was nearly flawless. He hit almost every fairway and green on the course, as seen in these stats, courtesy of the PGA Tour:

While his day would have been incredible regardless of the circumstances surrounding it, Matsuyama was playing alongside some notable golfers.

The likes of Phil Mickelson and Rickie Fowler would intimidate many golfers, but as Will Gray of GolfChannel.com points out, Matsuyama blew them out of the water:

Matsuyama doesn't figure to run away with this tournament by any means, but he dispelled any notion that what he did last year was a fluke. The rising star is no fluke, and he will be difficult to beat.

Van Pelt has shown he can hang with him through one round, and while Jason Dufner squandered a chance to share the lead by carding a double bogey on the 18th hole, he will be a threat to win as well, as he is six under.

The likes of Spieth, Keegan Bradley and Justin Rose are all hovering four shots off the pace too, and they are all capable of closing the gap significantly during Friday's second round.

Things are close enough after one round that the leaders can't afford to get too comfortable, which should ensure that the final three rounds of the Memorial will feature plenty of intense and entertaining moments for golf fans.

Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter.