Olympic Men's Golf 2016: Thursday Leaderboard Score, Highlights and Reaction

Marcus Fraser of Australia set a blistering pace Thursday with an eight-under 63 in the Summer Olympics' first round of golf since 1904 at the Olympic Golf Course in Rio de Janeiro.

Fraser's strong start left him three strokes ahead of his closest competition, Canada's Graham DeLaet and Sweden's Henrik Stenson. Other high-profile contenders like Justin Rose of Great Britain and Sergio Garcia of Spain are also within striking distance with 54 holes to play.

Let's take a look at the leaderboard's top 10 after Round 1. To view the complete list of scores from all 60 players in the field, visit the Olympics' official site.

Rank	Athlete	Country	Score
1	Marcus Fraser	AUS	-8
T-2	Graham DeLaet	CAN	-5
T-2	Henrik Stenson	SWE	-5
T-4	Thomas Pieters	BEL	-4
T-4	Gregory Bourdy	FRA	-4
T-4	Alex Cejka	GER	-4
T-4	Justin Rose	GBR	-4
T-4	Rafael Cabrera Bello	ESP	-4
T-9	Byeong Hun An	KOR	-3
T-9	Nicolas Colsaerts	BEL	-3

Unfortunately, most of the discussion leading up to the Games focused on the number of stars who opted against making the trip to Rio. It's a list that includes the top four players in the world—Jason Day, Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy—among others.

Although those decisions took some buzz away from the sport's return to the Olympic stage, it didn't take away the potential worldwide impact. It's something the legendary Arnold Palmer discussed in a special piece for Golf Channel this week:

"

This month, for the first time in 112 years, golf stands heroically alongside the marathon and the decathlon on a 21st-century digital stage that spans from a television in South Carolina to a hand-held phone in the South China Sea. This is the game in full bloom and living color with all the pomp and pageantry sport can muster. As of today a kid growing up in western Pennsylvania or eastern Portugal can dream of being an Olympic golfer. This is golf in the Olympics. And that, alone, is pure gold.

"

Furthermore, the lack of superstars leaves the door open for an unheralded player like Fraser to steal the spotlight and make a serious charge toward a gold medal.

The Aussie came out firing on all cylinders as he carded five birdies in his first six holes. He ended up finishing the day with nine birdies and just a single bogey to put himself all alone atop the leaderboard.

Afterward, Steve DiMeglio of USA Today passed along comments from the 38-year-old veteran about the special feeling.

"That first tee shot…I was a little jumpy," Fraser said. "Right now I have the Olympic record. That's pretty cool. Every week we play for ourselves. This week we're playing for your country…and yourself. This is one of the best rounds I've ever played, given the circumstances."

Fraser may have birdied half the course, but he didn't have the shot of the day. That honor belonged to Rose, who made Olympic history with an ace on the par-three fourth hole.

Olympic Golf confirmed it was the first hole-in-one at the Games:

ESPN Stats & Info provided more context for the English star's feat:

Not everybody had as much fun as Fraser and Rose, though.

Rickie Fowler, the eighth-ranked player in the world, shot a four-over 75. It's a frustrating setback for the American that will likely end his medal hopes right off the bat, unless he makes a miraculous turnaround Friday to get himself back in the mix heading into the weekend.

Will Gray of Golf Channel joked about the star's early struggles:

All told, Fraser took advantage of some favorable conditions earlier in the day to go low. Now the question is how the course will play Friday. If it follows a similar trend, the leaderboard should tighten as the players who battled trickier conditions in the afternoon head for earlier tee times.

The best thing from an entertainment perspective is that the course is capable of yielding some terrific scores. So unless Fraser unexpectedly starts lapping the field Friday, the weekend should produce a memorable finish on par with one of the major championships.