Jordan Spieth at Barclays 2016: Thursday Leaderboard Score and Twitter Reaction

Jordan Spieth returned to the PGA Tour for the first time in four weeks Thursday at the Barclays, shooting an even-par 71 over the first 18 holes, five shots behind clubhouse leaders Patrick Reed and Martin Laird.

This was one of the few tournaments in which Spieth struggled last year, missing the cut after shooting seven over par through 36 holes. He is off to a better start this time around, though two late bogeys cost him.

Here's the leaderboard from the Barclays' opening round:

Spieth's round appeared as though it would be positive, as he had four birdies in the first 13 holes, with bogeys on Nos. 9 and 10 being the only blemishes on his round up to that point.

The sixth hole looked as though it was going to be a bummer for Spieth after his tee shot went into the bunker, but he saved par thanks to this brilliant shot out of the dirt, via the PGA Tour's official Twitter account:

The early story of his round was getting onto the greens quickly and converting his putting opportunities. 

Per the PGA Tour's official website, Spieth hit 61.1 percent of his greens in regulation and gained 0.906 strokes with the putter.

Another moment when Spieth turned in a golden effort came on the fourth hole, where his chip shot nearly went in for an eagle.

The PGA Tour's official Twitter account shared the replay:

Spieth gave a shot back on the 16th hole with a bogey. He was in trouble out of the gate, hitting his tee shot into the right rough, though it appeared as though his knack for saving par would show up again when his third shot landed three yards from the hole. 

After being great on the greens early in the round, Spieth missed the par putt and settled for a five that dropped his score to one over par with two holes remaining. 

Following a par on No. 17, the final hole started out dicey, as Spieth's tee shot went into the bunker on the right side of the fairway. He again recovered by hitting his second shot onto the green, 21 yards from the hole.

Spieth was unable to knock in a difficult birdie putt that started on the front of the left side of the green and needed to go near the back edge. He put the shot seven yards from the hole, giving him a chance to salvage par.

Instead, Spieth again failed to execute on the green and settled for a disappointing opening-round 71.

The difficult Bethpage course features a big warning sign with these words: "The black course is an extremely difficult course which we recommend only for highly skilled golfers."

There weren't many players who made it through the first round under par, at least when Spieth walked off the course. He should have been in the red, but an uncharacteristically sloppy performance on the greens late leave him with more questions heading into Friday. 

Consistency has been lacking for Spieth in 2016. He has just two wins this season, none since May, and he has had four rounds with a score of at least 73 since the Memorial Tournament in June. 

Spieth is not off the radar despite his bad closing sequence, but he did make it more difficult for himself. His ability to compartmentalize and rebound quickly will determine how high he climbs in New York this week.

There don't figure to be many low numbers this week, so Spieth should be able to put himself in the mix with a strong effort Friday.