British Open 2015: Live Leaderboard Results for Thursday at St. Andrews

It may only be 10 a.m. on the United States' Eastern Seaboard, but due to a five-hour time differential in Fife, Scotland, players with early tee times are already finishing up their opening rounds in The Open Championship at St. Andrews' Old Course.

Due to a very soft course and limited winds, golfers who started early in the morning were awarded with pristine scoring conditions. Many took advantage, firing some low numbers to get off to hot starts; however, others weren't able to capitalize and have fallen into some deep early holes.

So if you happened to miss the opening segment of this year's Open Championship, here's the burning question you're probably asking: Which players shot out of the gate with low scores? Let's go ahead and take a look at the tournament's updated leaderboard and recap some of the morning's action.

Updated Tournament Leaderboard

The full leaderboard can be viewed at PGATour.com.

Thursday Morning Recap

David J. Phillip/Associated Press

A couple of familiar faces find themselves atop the leaderboard after brilliant showings Thursday. Dustin Johnson is in the lead after shooting a seven-under 65, and Jordan Spieth isn't far behind after notching a five-under 67 on the day.

The last time those two players were mentioned in the same sentence was in the U.S. Open at Chambers Bay. In an infamous conclusion to the tournament, Johnson's bid at winning the tournament outright fell short with a missed putt on the 72nd hole, and he went on to miss his comeback attempt for a three-putt that cost him a major title and gave Spieth his second of the year.

So far at St. Andrews, Johnson is in charge. The big-hitter was able to take advantage of the soft conditions on the Old Course, pummeling his drives and needing only short irons for most of his approach shots. His putter was red-hot on the day, as he didn't miss many short ones en route to shooting a 65.

In fact, Arron Oberholser of the Golf Channel had this to say during Johnson's round:

The American produced a bogey-free opening round, tallying five birdies, one eagle and 12 pars to take control of The Open Championship.

Spieth was on fire early in the day, finding fairways, hitting precise iron shots and displaying his great touch around the greens. He took full advantage of the easier front nine, racking up five birdies and four pars to make the turn with a five-under 31.

Here's a look at some of his highlights from Thursday's front nine:

Unfortunately, he couldn't keep his momentum going on the difficult back side, recording two birdies, two bogeys and six pars for an even-par 36 and a round of 67 on the day.

Regardless of his average back nine, don't expect Spieth to get flustered. He may be just 21 years of age, but he's one of the most mature and unflappable players on tour. Spieth is capable of quickly putting bad shots behind him and rebounding in a big way. We should expect that to be the case when he returns to action Friday.

While those players flourished Thursday, others weren't able to take advantage of the favorable scoring conditions and suddenly find themselves far off the pace.

Jon Super/Associated Press

Golf legend Tom Watson shot one of the highest rounds of the day. The 65-year-old was excellent on the front nine, making up for his bogey on the first hole with birdies on the sixth and ninth to make the turn with a one-under 35. He went on to also birdie the 10th, but then the wheels came off, as he recorded double bogeys on the 13th, 16th and 17th to finish the day with a four-over 76.

This was supposed to be Watson's farewell appearance in The Open Championship unless he obtained another exemption with a strong finish. That doesn't appear likely to be the case, so we should be watching his last stroll over the Swilcan Bridge on Friday.

Another player who shot a disappointing opening round was Tiger Woods. The former world No. 1 has an affinity for the Old Course, having won The Open Championship there in 2000 and 2005. Well, he hasn't exactly duplicated his old form this time around.

Woods' front nine was a mess. He started his tournament with bogeys on the first and second holes and added two more on the fifth and seventh to make the turn with a four-over 40. He didn't seem capable of controlling his driver at all Thursday, and Brian Wacker of PGATour.com tweeted this comical observation:

Tiger's back nine didn't get much better, as he opened the scoring on the side with a bogey on the 10th hole. He did begin to settle down a bit thereafter, and he did take advantage of the par-five 14th, notching his first birdie of the tournament. Woods went on to par out and shoot a four-over 76 on the day—a score that was only two strokes better than Kevin Streelman's high round of 78.

After his brutal showing in the U.S. Open, many began to wonder if Woods would ever return to form and contend in major championships again. Well, this opening round may put a concrete answer to that question, as he was unable to take advantage of a familiar course that was allowing the field to shoot some low numbers.