British Open 2015: Leaderboard Scores and Highlights from Thursday

Dustin Johnson has done just about everything this year except win a major. He certainly put himself in position to change that Thursday, however, roaring out to a lead at the British Open at St. Andrews after shooting a seven-under 65.

Johnson has one win this year, seven top-10 finishes, a sixth-place finish at the Masters and a second-place finish at the U.S. Open, the latter in heartbreaking fashion after missing both the putt that would have won the tournament and the one that would have forced extra holes. He was on fire Thursday, shooting five birdies and an eagle without bogeying a hole.

He also accomplished quite the feat on the day, as Ben Smith of BBC Sport tweeted:

For Johnson, getting out to a fast start was paramount.

"Everybody knows the weather Friday and Saturday is going to be very difficult, so today I thought was very important to get off to a good start and try to make as many birdies as you can," Johnson told ESPN. "Because the next couple days, it's going to be very difficult."

Johnson won't just be battling the weather in the next few days, however, as six players are just a stroke behind the leader, including Jason Day and Zach Johnson, while Jordan Spieth leads a group of five players just two strokes back.

You can see the full leaderboard below:

Spieth is a man to watch near the top after opening his season by winning both majors. And he believes he can catch Johnson, too, even if his playing partner Thursday is on fire.

"I believe in my skill set that I can still trump that crazy ability that he has," Spieth said of Johnson, per Ryan Lavner of the Golf Channel.

While the duel between Johnson and Spieth was the primary storyline of the day, Tiger Woods also set Twitter abuzz as he languished near the bottom of the leaderboard, shooting a dreadful four-over 76 on a day when many players took advantage of the favorable conditions and shot low scores.

That had everyone taking their digs at the former champion. Even the AARP. Yes, the AARP, as Darren Rovell of ESPN passed along on Twitter:

Peter Morrison/Associated Press

With Woods struggling, it isn't surprising that many folks are questioning whether he should retire. Still, the AARP taking its shot was a whole new level of piling on, at least according to Jason Sobel of ESPN.com:

Woods won't yet have time to worry about his retirement, though, as he'll be trying to make the cut Friday.

While Woods struggled, most of the other big names at least kept themselves in the running. Sergio Garcia (70), Phil Mickelson (70) and Bubba Watson (71) are within striking distance of the leaderboard, with the possibility of adverse weather conditions meaning anything could happen over the weekend. 

Indeed, rain and gusting winds are expected Friday, according to Jason Samenow of the Washington Post, while Saturday could see thunderstorms and winds of up to 40 mph. That means the players capable of managing both the conditions and the course will likely fare better than those players who rely on pure power.

A bit of guile, savvy and a lot of patience may be the recipe for success going forward. Johnson and Spieth played like forces of nature Thursday, but Mother Nature looks likely to be the defining feature of the British Open over the weekend.