PGA Championship 2016: Leaderboard Scores and Highlights from Thursday

The clouds sent rain washing down on Baltusrol Golf Club, but Jimmy Walker saw nothing but clarity in Thursday's first round of the 2016 PGA Championship. 

Walker carded a five-under 65 on the Springfield, New Jersey, golf course to carry a one-stroke lead heading into the second round. Martin Kaymer, Ross Fisher and Emiliano Grillo are each tied for second at four under.

Walker, a 37-year-old who has never finished any better than seventh at a major, carded six birdies against one bogey. He played the front nine at one under, including recording just one bogey at No. 6, before firing on all cylinders on the back. Starting with a 10-foot birdie at No. 13, Walker finished with four birdies in his final six holes. 

The PGA Tour provided a look at Walker's best shot of the day:

"I want to win one. It would be huge. That's the whole purpose and the goal in being here is to win," Walker said, per the European Tour's website. "I feel like I've prepared and I'm ready to go this week. It's nice that that's what showed today. I felt like I was ready to go. Winning a major is huge. Three more days to go."

Walker would be the fourth first-time major winner of 2016. Danny Willett (Masters), Dustin Johnson (U.S. Open) and Henrik Stenson (Open Championship) won the first three.

"I had not really thought about that," Walker said of the trend, per Alex Myers of Golf Digest. "Three first-time major winners this year, I don't think it's coincidence or anything. They are all good players and it was just a matter of time. So just keep that rolling."

There's an added benefit of Walker leading, via SB Nation:

Stenson and Kaymer are the only two previous major champions in the top eight. Stenson, who is coming off a record-setting performance at The Open Championship, rolled in three birdies on the back nine to get himself to three under. Kaymer, playing in one of the earliest groups, birdied three of his last four holes and had just one bogey to join the others in second place.

"I rarely put myself out of play where I need to scramble a lot," Kaymer said, per Keith Jackson of Sky Sports. "The last three or four holes, I needed to do a little bit of that, but in general I kept it together and created chances, and I think that's the key on this golf course."

For the world's top golfers—all majorless in 2016—it was a tale of wildly disparate rounds. Jason Day is among 12 golfers who are tied for ninth place at two under. The world No. 1 hit 94.4 percent of his greens in regulation but found himself on a two-putt spree. He finished the round with 14 pars, 13 of which were the result of him putting at least twice.

Day said, per Steve DiMeglio of USA Today:

"

Got to do a little bit of putting trying to straighten out a few of the little ones. I have to try to change the focus, from standing over the ball and thinking about what am I doing, to just getting in there and trying to hole the putt. … I guess I haven't had the greatest putting display over the last three weeks that I've played. I think that shows a little bit in the results.

"

Jordan Spieth was even more par-heavy, playing 15 of his holes even. A double bogey at No. 7 was his only major mistake, and he birdied two of his last three holes to finish at even par. 

Justin Ray of Golf Channel pointed out it was far from a breezy round:

Still, if they had the chance, Rory McIlroy and Johnson would trade places with Spieth in a heartbeat. Both are in danger of missing the cut after miserable first rounds. McIlroy did not card a single birdie despite hitting 72.2 percent of his greens in regulation; he peppered in four bogeys to shoot 74. Three of the bogeys came on a stretch between Nos. 13-16.

“I didn’t have any momentum out there. I am happy with my game tee to green," McIlroy said, per Ewan Murray of the Guardian. "I am driving the ball as well as I have ever, I think. Iron play feels good. The greens are just a different story and I have to figure that out for tomorrow. I have to shoot something in the mid-60s to get myself back into it.”

Johnson fared even worse, flailing his way to a seven-over 77. He double-bogeyed twice (Nos. 3 and 11) and posted four more bogeys against a single under-par score. Only five players in the field had a worse round.

Robby Kalland of CBS Sports summed up Johnson's day well:

Other notables straddling the cut line include Phil Mickelson (+1), Sergio Garcia (+1), Matt Kuchar (+4) and Jim Furyk (+4). 

Follow Tyler Conway (@jtylerconway) on Twitter.