2015 Open Championship: Key Takeaways from Round 1

Round 1 of the 2015 Open Championship is in the books, and similar to the U.S. Open, many of the same key figures are grabbing the headlines at the Old Course at St. Andrews Links.

Dustin Johnson, whose three-putt on the last hole cost him the U.S. Open championship, is the leader at seven under par. Johnson has said that his collapse at the U.S. Open, along with other career missteps, have only made him stronger, and his bogey-free round on Thursday goes a long way in backing up those claims.

As his eagle putt on hole No. 5 shows, Johnson felt no ill effects from his last major performance early on in Thursday's round. He jumped out to a strong start and stayed sharp throughout, but the true test of his putting will come in his first high-pressure situation, which will likely come this weekend if his play continues to stay sharp.

Despite Johnson's near-flawless round, the star of the tournament is Jordan Spieth. After winning the first two majors of the year, the 21-year-old is on his way to golf superstardom and has put himself in position to contend for a third major win this weekend.

Spieth shot five under on the day and, like Johnson, took advantage of relatively fair morning weather conditions.

For all his physical talents, Spieth is lauded most for his poise under pressure, which was evident during his U.S. Open win. Should this again come down to Johnson and Spieth, Spieth's composure makes him a more popular pick to come away with the championship.

Though he had few issues on the course, Spieth had a little more trouble in his post-round interview with ESPN's Tom Rinaldi.

We've all been there, kid.

Alastair Grant/Associated Press

After battling through vertigo at the U.S. Open en route to a top-10 finish, Jason Day had no problem staying on two feet on Thursday. He finished at six under with no bogeys to continue his run of strong starts in this year's major tournaments.

Day was tied for the lead heading into the final round of the U.S. Open but faltered on Sunday. Still in search of his first career major victory, he is in good position for another chance at it heading into the weekend.

Perhaps the most impressive part of Day's round was his par on No. 17. The course's penultimate hole, known as the "Road Hole," was by far the toughest on the course.

While Day made par at the hole, it was Luke Donald who made perhaps the shot of the day out of a ridiculously steep greenside bunker.

Donald shot a four-under-par 68.

Peter Morrison/Associated Press

In what has become a theme in recent years, Tiger Woods again struggled mightily at a major. His four-over-par first round makes it unlikely that he will make the cut this weekend, and he hit a number of errant shots.

Woods clearly is nowhere near the player he once was, and what makes his fall from grace so staggering is the apparent gap between him and the rest of the field. A comparison to Spieth shows just how far behind Woods is from competing for major championships with the current top players.

Just like at the U.S. Open, Woods will be among the main talking points heading into the weekend, and plenty of discussions about his decline will be had.

But when play resumes on Saturday, with Woods likely out of the field, attention will shift to the game's current stars, and, as has been the case for some time, Woods will continue to fade out of the spotlight.