Wells Fargo Championship 2017: Francesco Molinari Leads Early, 4 Tied for 2nd

The PGA Tour has converged on North Carolina for the 2017 Wells Fargo Championship, with Francesco Molinari taking the lead after Thursday's opening round at six-under par. 

Molinari can't get too comfortable leading into Friday's second round. There is a four-way tie for second place at five-under par, including Alex Noren, J.B. Holmes, Grayson Murray and Brian Campbell. 

It was a good day overall for the field with 52 players posting scores under par, including Dustin Johnson (two-under) and Phil Mickelson (one-under). 

Here's the full leaderboard at the Wells Fargo Championship:

Molinari took the early lead before the rest of the field got on the course. The 34-year-old has never won on the PGA Tour, though he does have four victories on the European Tour. His last win was at the Italian Open in September 2016. 

He was able to get his score down to six-under par thanks to this chip-in birdie on the final hole:

Molinari's short game was particularly effective in the first round. He gained 1.17 strokes putting, per PGATour.com, helping boost his adequate greens in regulation percentage (72.2). 

Murray and Campbell blew their chance to tie Molinari for the low score of the day. Murray actually held the lead at seven-under par with two holes left before hitting consecutive bogeys to close out on a down note. 

Campbell didn't fare much better than Murray, with a bogey on his final hole that pushed him back into the cluster of players tied for second. 

While Molinari is enjoying his moment in the spotlight, Johnson looks to be in line for a major move at some point this weekend. The world's top-ranked player, who is in search of his fourth straight PGA Tour victory, didn't post a stellar score at two-under par. 

However, per Justin Ray of the Golf Channel, Johnson was able to put himself in position to have a much lower number:

Johnson hurt himself once he got on the green with just 0.28 strokes gained with the putter, per PGATour.com. Putting hasn't been his strength this season, as he ranks 162nd in overall putting average, but he has been able to thrive anyway. 

Mickelson is one shot behind Johnson after having one of those up-and-down days he's prone to shooting. He looked like a mess early with bogeys on No. 3 and 5 before ripping off three straight birdies on the next three holes. 

On the 18th hole, Mickelson took a unique approach to making par with three bad shots to start before saving it on his last two attempts:

That basically summed up the day for Mickelson, while also serving as a good representation of a lot of the field. It was a feeling-out round with players trying to see how the course was going to play. 

Molinari adapted better than anyone and has the inside track on a victory. The rest of the field will start to make its move Friday when the second round begins.