Dean & Deluca Invitational 2017: Thursday Ends with 3-Way Tie Atop Leaderboard

Things are tight after the first round of the Dean & Deluca Invitational in Fort Worth, Texas.

Derek Fathauer, J.T. Poston and Kelly Craft all finished tied atop the leaderboard after shooting 5-under 65s on Thursday, while three more players are within a stroke of the leaders and 20 players find themselves within three strokes. 

You can see the full leaderboard below:

Both Fathauer and Poston were nearly flawless on the day, each finishing with six birdies and a solitary bogey. 

Kraft, meanwhile, found himself in the running after finishing with five birdies and no bogeys. He also made this superb putt on No. 16, per the PGA Tour:

As for some of the bigger names in the tournament, Jordan Spieth finished even on the day, though he did provide a few highlights, including these two stunning approaches to finish his round:

Spieth's day was wildly inconsistent, as he finished with six birdies, four bogeys and a double-bogey. His round was a microcosm of his season, which has seen him be brilliant at times and struggle at others. It's been more struggle of late, however, as he's missed his last two cuts.

Like Spieth, Brandt Snedeker finished at even on the day, had an inconsistent round and provided one of the most memorable shots on Thursday:

Phil Mickelson finds himself in the thick of things, meanwhile, finishing his day at 3-under. 

Other notable rounds included Zach Johnson's 67 and Sergio Garcia's 69.

Garcia, in particular, played the par-three No. 4 to perfection:

One player to watch out for going forward is Jon Rahm, who sits just one stroke off the lead, is playing excellent golf and felt very comfortable on the course Thursday.

"It's an old school golf course, and usually I like those," Rahm said, per Kyle Porter of CBS Sports. "We have quite a few of those back in Spain. I feel comfortable ... I try to use (my driver) as much as possible, and rarely found myself out of the fairway. When I did, it was on the right side of the rough so I had a good chance to hit a good shot."

He added, "There are many ways to play this golf course, and many different players that have won here... I feel like we thought properly out there. The one shot I missed I got lucky."

Rahm is absolutely a major contender heading into the weekend. Given the tightly packed group atop the leaderboard, however, the next three rounds should be fascinating in Fort Worth.