Jordan Spieth Struggles on Day 1 of Masters 2017, Shoots 3-over Par

Jordan Spieth's chances of winning a second green jacket took a big hit Thursday after he finished three over in the first round of the 2017 Masters at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia.

Spieth entered the clubhouse six shots back of tournament leaders William McGirt and Jason Dufner:

Here's a hole-by-hole breakdown of Spieth's opening round:

Hole	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	In
Hole	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	Out
Par	4	5	4	3	4	3	4	5	4	36
Score	4	4	4	3	5	3	4	5	4	36
Overall	E	-1	-1	-1	E	E	E	E	E	E
Par	4	4	3	5	4	5	3	4	4	72
Score	4	4	3	4	5	9	2	4	4	75
Overall	E	E	E	-1	E	+4	+3	+3	+3	+3

The 23-year-old has an excellent record at Augusta so far. In his first three tries, he earned one victory and two runner-up finishes, and he would've won in 2016 were it not for an historic final-round collapse.

ESPN Stats & Info noted how strong starts put Spieth on solid footing:

Things looked to be going well enough for Spieth through the first 14 holes. He was at even par after birdieing Nos. 2 and 13 and bogeying Nos. 5 and 14.

Spieth looked to have put last year's disappointment behind him as well after he earned a par on the 12th hole—the site of his meltdown. ESPN.com's Jason Sobel felt relieved to see Spieth set himself up well off the tee:

Three holes later, though, Spieth likely had flashbacks to 2016 when he quadruple-bogeyed the 15th hole. His third shot ended up in a water hazard in front of the green, and after getting onto the green with his sixth shot, he three-putted before concluding the hole.

Oddschecker and 120 Sports expected Spieth to go full Happy Gilmore:

CBS Sports' Brandon Tierney knew Spieth's pain:

Fox Sports 1's Robert Lusetich praised the young star's composure for turning around and birdieing No. 16:

Getting a stroke back helped mitigate the damage of the quadruple-bogey, but Spieth closed with pars on the final two holes to stay at three over.

To a certain extent, the fact Spieth's problems were largely confined to one hole is encouraging for his chances of making a comeback.

Plus, the absence of Dustin Johnson will be a boost for Spieth and every other golfer in the field.

Johnson won his last two tournaments but fell down a staircase Wednesday, injuring his back, according to the Associated Press' Doug Ferguson. The Masters announced Thursday the 32-year-old will be out for the remainder of the event. 

Still, the last five Masters champions were all in the top 10 at the end of the first round. Augusta National is a difficult course, which doesn't usually lend itself to historic comebacks. Making up six shots over three rounds won't be easy.

Even though scores are low across the board this year, a quadruple-bogey may have derailed Spieth's Masters hopes for the second year in a row.

Post-Round Reaction

Spieth said he approached the 15th tee with the wrong attitude in terms of how to play the hole, per Sky Sports:

"

You think of [the 15th] as a birdie hole, obviously being a par five. And unfortunately I still thought of it as a birdie hole today and it really isn't, when you lay up. So I didn't take my medicine, and hit it about 15 feet right with a club that takes the spin off. Instead I was stuck in the 15 is a birdie hole mentality, and it kind of bit me a little bit. I struck the shot well, I just hit the wrong club.

"

Despite his poor first round, Spieth still sees himself as a contender this weekend.

"Fortunately, we're still in it," he said, per GolfChannel.com's Randall Mell. "Looks like something in single digits could win this. I can still shoot single digits."