British Open 2016: Live Leaderboard Results for Thursday at Royal Troon

Royal Troon’s back nine proved tough to master for the early starters on Day 1 of the 2016 British Open.

After Colin Montgomerie got the tournament underway at his home venue, the players out on course in the morning lit up the front nine with birdies. However, after the turn, the upwind holes caused problems for all, with red on the leaderboard scarce from the 10th onwards.

Impressive early on was Patrick Reed, who shot a five-under 66 to take the clubhouse lead, as was Justin Thomas, who is a shot back after a 67.

Here is how the leaderboard is shaping up on Day 1 and a closer look at how things have panned out at Troon in the nascent stages of the competition.

Tale of Troon’s 2 Halves

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Troon is renowned for having a much easier front nine, and it was here the players sought to make their score early on.

Thomas set the template in that respect. While he struggled after the turn, including a double bogey at the 15th, he started in sensational fashion, with four birdies in the opening four holes. It was that momentum he carried throughout the majority of his round.

Reed was another American who shone in the Scottish sun early on. After a couple of pars to start the day, he chipped in superbly for eagle at the third, as we can see courtesy of the tournament’s Twitter feed:

He followed that with three more birdies on the front nine, before two more coming home were offset by a couple of bogeys, giving him the clubhouse lead at five under. Per ESPN’s Jason Sobel, it’s the best opening round in Open history at this venue.

There is potential for players to shoot even lower on the day, too. As we can see here courtesy of Golfing World, Haydn Porteous, playing in his first ever major championship, was on fire early on:

While a lot of the players were under par through the front nine, there were still some dangers. Bubba Watson, who held a share of the lead at one stage, found that out at the eighth when he put himself in a difficult position in the infamous coffin bunker, per the Golf Channel:

The second half of the round saw plenty more black on the players' scorecards. After the turn, the Troon course is notoriously difficult, especially, as was the case on Thursday, when playing against the wind. It meant the players had to switch out of their aggressive mindset and slip into a more sensible style.

Despite being in the midst of this tricky sequence of holes, the moment of the day came from Louis Oosthuizen at the 14th. After notching an ace at the Masters earlier in the year, he bagged another at Troon, per the tournament’s official Twitter feed:

Elsewhere, Rory McIlroy held a share of the lead at one point when he reached four under par, although dropping three shots in two holes on 13 and 14 set him back. A birdie at 15 saw the 2014 champion begin with a solid two-under par.

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World No. 1 Jason Day struggled to find his best on the opening day, finishing up with a two-over par round of 73, although his playing partner Rickie Fowler shot a confident 69. Two-time major winner Jordan Spieth had an up-and-down round, too, although managed to scramble home with a level par 71.

As noted by the Dallas Morning News' Brad Townsend, Spieth didn't feel as though his luck was in on the day:

The run to home may have proved tough to master for the players, but conditions were pretty gentle on Thursday. On Friday, wind and rain are in the forecast to engulf the course, per BBC Weather, meaning pars will be become extremely valuable. It means those who are well placed at the end of Day 1 will be doubly delighted with their effort.

It’s a setup that’s going to make for fascinating viewing and a true test of all facets of a player's game. Heavy scorers can excel over the opening nine with opportunities to make a lot of progress quickly, whereas the holes late on will require a lot of mental strength. Everyone will drop shots on the back nine, but those who recover the quickest will cling on at the summit of the standings.