The Masters 2016 Leaderboard: Thursday Scores, Results and Analysis

Jordan Spieth continued his dominance of Augusta National Golf Club on Thursday during the first round of The Masters.

The defending champion of the tournament in Augusta, Georgia produced a pristine round of 66 that featured six birdies and 12 pars. The strong play from Spieth allowed him to lead The Masters for the fifth consecutive round. 

Plenty of golfers attempted to reach Spieth's low total, but no one was able to draw level at six-under with the 22-year-old.

Jason Day hovered beneath Spieth on the leaderboard for a good amount of the round, but he dropped down to even par after a disastrous stretch to close out the back nine. 

New Zealand's Danny Lee and Ireland's Shane Lowry concluded the round two strokes back of Spieth. Five players sit three shots behind Spieth, including Justin Rose, Paul Casey and Sergio Garcia. 

Garcia surged into the top 10 with an impressive performance on the back nine near the end of Thursday's opening round. Rory McIlroy was a part of the bunch at three-under, but he bogeyed the final hole and walked into the clubhouse at two-under. 

The first day of the major season in golf also produced some brutal rounds. No player experienced more trouble than Ernie Els, who started with a nine and finished at eight-over alongside Rickie Fowler, who also suffered a ton over 18 holes. 

Friday's second round begins at 8:20 a.m. ET. Spieth starts his next 18 holes of the tournament at 12:55 p.m. ET.