Honda Classic 2017: Thursday Leaderboard Scores and Highlights

The PGA Tour returned to the eastern part of the United States on Thursday for the 2017 Honda Classic, with Cody Gribble and Wesley Bryan sharing the lead after 18 holes with identical scores of six under par. 

Even with some of the top stars, including Dustin Johnson and Jordan Spieth, taking this week off, Gribble and Bryan are surprise leaders in the clubhouse. By the current world rankings, Bryan is No. 96 and Gribble is No. 197. 

Here's the full leaderboard after the opening round at the Honda Classic:

Bryan may not be a household name yet, but he's starting to find a groove on the course. The PGA Tour tweeted out this stat about the 26-year-old's last nine rounds:

At the Genesis Open last week, Bryan finished fourth and only placed that low due to a one-over 72 in the final round. He has three career wins on the Web.com Tour but is still seeking his first triumph on the PGA Tour. 

Three more performances like the one he offered Thursday will push Bryan far up the world rankings. 

Gribble's spot as co-leader is even more surprising than Bryan's. He has been an afterthought since the calendar flipped to 2017, missing the cut in each of his last four PGA Tour events after coming in 14th place at the SBS Tournament of Champions. 

Since the actual PGA Tour season begins in October, Gribble does have a win in 2016-17 at the Sanderson Farms Championship. It's been a rough road for Texas native since that tournament.

The key to Gribble's success Thursday was getting on the green. He hit all 18 greens in regulation, making history in the process, per Justin Ray of the Golf Channel:

Sustaining that momentum Friday will determine Gribble's fate. It hasn't been a pretty picture for the last six weeks, but all that can be washed away with three more strong rounds of golf. 

Gribble and Bryan have to contend with Anirban Lahiri and Martin Kaymer nipping at their heels. Lahiri had one of the best tee shots of the day on No. 15 that led to a birdie, via PGA Tour:

Kaymer closed the first round with back-to-back birdies that put his score at five under par. 

Kaymer looked like he was going to post the low score of the day on the front nine with a 31 that featured four birdies, including this long putt on No. 9, via PGA Tour:

The only speed bump Kaymer had Thursday came on the 14th hole when he hit his only bogey. He wasn't quite as successful as Gribble at hitting greens in regulation (15-of-18), but his driving accuracy of 92.9 percent made up for whatever shortcomings he had in that regard.

Considering this is Kaymer's first round on the PGA Tour since October 30—though he's kept up on his game through the European Tour—it's a terrific start for the two-time major champion. 

Adam Scott, who is the highest-ranked player in the world golf standings playing this weekend, got off to a solid start Thursday. He fired a two-under par 68 with a lot of ups and downs before salvaging things with two birdies over his last four holes.

Starting on the back nine, Scott opened his round with a bogey. He did have three birdies in a five-hole stretch from Nos. 12 through 16, though there was another bogey mixed in on No. 15 that prevented him from putting up a low number. 

Given that Scott only had a driving accuracy percentage of 28.6 and hit just two-thirds of his greens in regulation, putting up any score under par in the first round should feel like a win.

With three straight tournaments in which he's finished outside the top 10, Scott needs a strong showing this weekend to get back on track. 

After weather wreaked havoc on things last week in California, with some players needing to play 36 holes on Sunday, this was a low-key return to form for the PGA Tour. 

The surprise leaders on Thursday give the tournament a unique feeling that a new or obscure face could be in position to take home a victory. There's also the looming specter of players like Scott and Rickie Fowler (four under par) who have the potential to make a big move in the second round.

Stats per PGATour.com