Travelers Championship 2016: Thursday Leaderboard Scores and Highlights

The PGA Tour stopped in Connecticut this week for the 2016 Travelers Championship, where Vaughn Taylor, Andrew Loupe and Jerry Kelly jumped into a three-way tie for the lead at six under par after Thursday's first round.

The top of the leaderboard is a jumbled mess, with three players tied for fourth place at five under par and two tied for seventh at four under.

Here's the leaderboard from TPC River Highlands:

There's been a running theme of tense rounds over the last month. The British Open featured a great two-man Sunday battle, with Henrik Stenson matching Phil Mickelson shot for shot to secure his first victory in a major.

Jhonattan Vegas won the RBC Canadian Open two weeks ago, finishing one shot ahead of three players. Last week's PGA Championship saw Jimmy Walker fend off Jason Day to win the year's last major title by one stroke. 

While there is still a lot of golf to be played this week, the Travelers Championship is shaping up to be more of the same.

The names atop the leaderboard aren't marquee stars, but they are something new to keep an eye on. 

Kelly showed plenty of personality while vaulting to the top of the leaderboard with putts like this, via the PGA Tour:

Per PGA Tour Media, Kelly is not accustomed to being tied for the lead in the opening round:

The 49-year-old is in search of his first victory on the PGA Tour since 2009. He's also looking for his third top-10 finish in 2016. This represents an excellent step forward after he missed the cut in five of his previous seven tournaments.

Kelly's opening-round 64 represents his best effort since the first round at the CareerBuilder Challenge in January. He went on to finish 42nd in that tournament.

Taylor is an even unlikelier leader at this point, as Jonathan Wall of the PGA Tour's official website noted:

"

Reason No. 2,178 why you shouldn't bet on golf: Vaughn Taylor has only made 7 cuts in last 16 starts. Best finish T33. He leads at 6 under.

— Jonathan Wall (@jonathanrwall) August 4, 2016"

If you expand Taylor's stats to include more tournaments from earlier in the season, his performance doesn't look as shocking. He won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February, though he immediately followed that up with five straight missed cuts.

Loupe looked lost coming into Thursday's opening round. The 27-year-old has missed 13 cuts this season, including six straight dating back to the Dean and DeLuca Invitational in May. 

With most of the top players taking the week off or heading to Rio de Janeiro for the Olympics, the door is wide-open for someone new to get his moment in the spotlight. 

Bubba Watson is the defending champion in this event, defeating Paul Casey in a playoff last year. He is off to a strong start after 18 holes, which landed him in a tie for ninth at three under. His tee shot on the par-three 11th hole was a thing of beauty, via the PGA Tour:

While also preparing to take part in the Olympics, Watson is getting one final tune-up before heading to Rio. He wasn't dominant on the course but opted to pick his spots to finish with a good score that put him in position to compete for a win. 

Watson finished with three birdies, all of which came in a three-hole span from Nos. 11 through 13, and no bogeys.

The story of the opening round was how many players were able to get under par. There are 72 golfers in the red heading into Friday.

The surprising trio atop the standings was able to build confidence Thursday, but a number of challengers are on its heels. Vaughn, Kelly and Loupe will have to prove their resolve if they hope to end up with a victory Sunday.