Masters 2016: Leaderboard Scores, Analysis, Highlights and More from Thursday

The 2016 Masters Tournament began much as last year's was throughout—with Jordan Spieth perched atop a star-studded leaderboard.  

Spieth fired a bogey-free six-under 66 at Augusta National Golf Club on Thursday to take a two-stroke lead over Danny Lee and Shane Lowry. Only one shot further back are Justin Rose, Sergio Garcia and Ian Poulter, among others.

The Masters Tournament's official Twitter feed provided highlights of Spieth's day:

Spieth, who went wire-to-wire to win the 2015 green jacket, put together a flawless round with six birdies and no dropped shots. He remained patient and capitalized on a close approach to the par-four third for his first birdie of the round.

Then, Spieth's tee shot to the par-three sixth was below the hole, setting up an uphill left-to-right birdie that he hit dead center. A pitch-and-putt routine birdie followed at the par-five No. 8 to allow Spieth to turn in 33.

That wound up being the number the 22-year-old posted on the homeward nine as well thanks to birdies at Nos. 10, 13 and 18 and end the day.

Shane Bacon of Fox Sports highlighted how brilliant Spieth has been in the biggest events of late:

Golf Channel's Justin Ray added more to emphasize Spieth's prowess at Augusta:

Setting the tone with a birdie right ahead of Amen Corner was key for Spieth keeping his momentum going on the back. Of course, it also helped to have won the green jacket last year and to have finished second in his prior outing in Augusta, Georgia.

While Lowry and Lee deserve credit for how well they played—Lowry was as low as five under through eight—most fans will be focused on the possibility of a duel between Spieth and Rory McIlroy, which is still alive thanks to the latter's own stellar showing.

McIlroy finished fourth at the 2015 Masters in his first attempt at the career Grand Slam and is off to a great start thanks to a first-round 70, which unfortunately featured two bogeys in his last three holes.

The Northern Irishman's three-putt at No. 16 triggered the following analysis from Fox Sports' Steve Flesch:

An eagle at the par-five 13th gave McIlroy a big boost in what otherwise turned out to be a middling effort. His new cross-handed putting grip held up to a degree, but if McIlroy wants to contend, he has to be better with the short stick.

Many players struggled on the second nine, yet Garcia stepped up with four straight birdies from Nos. 13 through 16, the second of those coming on a great approach to the 14th:

But no one was as good from start to finish as Spieth, whose work on the greens was superb en route to only 25 putts, compared to, say, McIlroy's 31.

Will Gray of Golf Channel put Spieth's peerless performance in context, contrasting it with past Masters winners and other pre-tournament favorites:

Blustery conditions made for a challenging opening round. A combination of gusty winds and slippery putting surfaces made Augusta National even more formidable than usual—and it showed in how many of the players scored.

Rickie Fowler, who finished in the top five in all majors in 2014 and won the 2015 Players Championship, carded an eight-over 80 on Thursday. Two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson birdied the 18th but struggled to a 75.

The most stunning slide among the early leaders and top prospective contenders came from world No. 1 Jason Day. After Spieth had posted the clubhouse lead, Day came charging out of the gates with an eagle at No. 2 and capped a front-side 31 with a near-eagle:

Day entered having won his two previous starts and showed no signs of slowing down—until the par-five 15th, when he three-putted for bogey. The Aussie then pulled a short iron to the par-three 16th and wound up making a triple bogey followed by another dropped shot at No. 17 to settle for an even-par 72.

At least Day got off to a fast start, which wasn't the case for four-time major winner Ernie Els, to say the least.

Els was a victim of the yips on the first green, taking six putts en route to a quintuple-bogey nine on the par-four first. Fox Sports Asia captured The Big Easy's horror show:

"

INCREDIBLE!! @TheBig_Easy suffers a NIGHTMARE at #TheMasters hitting a 10 on a par 4. #GoingForGreen #Golf pic.twitter.com/ef9brhINM5

— FOX Sports Asia (@FOXSportsAsia) April 7, 2016"

It was initially thought that Els had a 10 on No. 1, but the score later changed, per Kirk Bohls of the Austin American-Statesman, as Els posted a round of 80.

Conditions are expected to be similar at Augusta National until Sunday, so low scores will continue to be hard to come by. Per Weather.com, winds are estimated to be at 19 and 20 mph, respectively, in Augusta on Friday and Saturday.

Sports Illustrated's Alan Shipnuck noted how the circumstances may well favor McIlroy:

Spieth did about as well as anyone could have on Thursday, and it's unlikely someone will threaten the 18-under-par scoring record he tied with Tiger Woods for in 2015 this time around.

Anyone who shot level par or in red figures in the first round fared rather well and should be in good shape because the 36-hole lead isn't bound to be lower than eight under or so.

Based on how dominant Spieth has been, there's little reason to doubt him. Unless McIlroy's putter gets hot or Spieth experiences a sudden decline on a course he's owned, the American prodigy should be viewed as the prohibitive favorite.

Post-Round Reaction

Spieth couldn't have imagined doing better than 66 and said as much after.

"I got the most that I could possibly get out of my round today," he told ESPN.com's Jason Sobel.

"I put it up there with one of the best rounds I've played," added Spieth, per Yahoo Sports' Dan Wetzel.

The 22-year-old also tried to dismiss the notion that he was entering the Masters in bad form, per CBS Sports' Kyle Porter:

Els was kind enough to address his putting fiasco, saying, per PGATour.com's Brian Wacker: "I've made thousands of three‑footers, and I couldn't take it back. Not sure where I'm going from here."

Wacker also reported the abbreviated responses the often even-keeled Fowler provided after his eight-over start:

One of the more humorous moments came from Lee, who was expecting a warmer reception when he holed a birdie putt from off the back of the green at the par-three 12th to no applause.

"I don't know, but I guess nobody was watching my putt," said Lee, per the Associated Press' John Zenor, via Yahoo Sports. "I was just waving at myself to the crowds, 'I made birdie, guys.'"

McIlroy admitted to tiring down the stretch en route to a three-putt bogey at No. 16 and a wayward approach to the last that plugged in the greenside bunker.

"I let a couple shots get away on 16 and 18...bit of a tired swing (on 18)," said McIlroy, per Wacker.

Note: Stats and scores courtesy of Masters.com.