BMW Championship 2015: Leaderboard Scores and Highlights from Thursday

Jason Day is ranked third in the world golf rankings, but no one has been playing to his level in the past two months. After an idle week to rest prior to Thursday's first round of the BMW Championship, Day appeared determined to stay atop the FedEx Cup standings in Lake Forest, Illinois.

The red-hot Aussie very nearly made history as he was within striking distance of shooting a 59, but he had to settle for a 10-under 61 instead.

Play was called Thursday because of inclement weather with numerous players in the exclusive 70-man field still on the course. Day had just one hole left to complete Friday, and as seen in this photo courtesy of Golf Channel's Ryan Lavner, he was a short pitch away from a 59:

The pitch didn't go, and neither did his birdie putt, but Day still had a solid ending to what was a spectacular first round with a par.

Day played alongside a familiar foe in Jordan Spieth and Deutsche Bank Championship winner Rickie Fowler and stole the show, getting to 10-under par through 17 holes to grab a four-stroke lead over Daniel Berger Thursday.

Prior to the tournament, Day took to Twitter and outlined his plan of attack:    

Let's just say Day accomplished his mission beyond perhaps what he could have reasonably expected amid an opening round that featured swirling winds and tougher scoring conditions.

Starting on the back nine at Conway Farms Golf Club, Day rattled off five birdies to one bogey and went out in four-under 32. Then he really put his foot on the gas after the turn, going eagle-birdie-birdie to start his inward nine, including a hole-out eagle at the par-four No. 1:

Ryan Lavner of Golf Channel highlighted how two key facets of Day's game are clicking to a remarkable degree at the moment:

But Spieth had some fireworks of his own in store on the very next tee box after Day's eagle, when he drilled a 7-iron into the cup for an ace:

No Laying Up reacted to the one on Spieth's scorecard:

Spieth did well in his own right, bouncing back from two missed cuts to get into contention in Round 1 at five under par through 17 holes. He used the hole-in-one as a springboard to birdie the next two holes and added another birdie at the par-four seventh, which was his 16th hole of the day.

Less heralded despite being the current leader in the clubhouse, Berger put on a show to end his round birdie-birdie-eagle, capping off a six-under 29 on his last nine with this one-hop dunk:

Berger is a rookie who's had a mixed 2014-15 campaign with 14 missed cuts in 29 events. He's nevertheless a long hitter—his 302.6 yards off the tee on average is 19th-best on tour—who will likely benefit from the fact that the BMW Championship doesn't present the pressure of having to make the cut.

The "59 watch" Day was on made for the most fascinating storyline in Thursday's action, though. If he follows Berger's lead and holes out his second shot at the par-four ninth, he can hit that number. Based on Day's current form, nothing can be discounted at this point.

Day's quote following his scintillating display Thursday is telling:

Jim Furyk shot the magic 59 number two years ago at Conway Farms but had to withdraw on Thursday for only the second time in his lengthy PGA Tour career because of a wrist injury. Furyk figured to be a favorite entering the week, but he'll still be inside the top 30 for the Tour Championship if health permits him to compete in the postseason finale.

Day can seize world No. 1 status with a win, as can Spieth. Rory McIlroy is the current top-ranked player and has taken a backseat to Day and Spieth this season. The 26-year-old has gotten off to a reasonably strong start at the BMW Championship in going three under through 12.

McIlroy has not missed a green in regulation thus far but is still struggling a bit with his putter. If the flat iron gets hot and McIlroy's stellar iron play continues, don't be surprised to see him vault into contention when play resumes Friday.

Note: Stats courtesy of PGATour.com unless otherwise indicated.