Travelers Championship 2017: Jordan Spieth Bolts to Top of Thursday Leaderboard

Jordan Spieth holds the outright lead after the first round of the 2017 Travelers Championship after shooting a seven-under par 63. 

Rebounding from an erratic showing at last week's U.S. Open, Spieth moved into the lead with a birdie on the 18th hole. It was one of eight birdies he hit in the round, with a bogey on No. 9 being his lone blemish on Thursday. 

Johnson Wagner and Brett Stegmaier set the first-round tone early, going into the clubhouse tied for the lead at six-under par before Spieth surpassed them later in the day. 

Here's the full leaderboard after Thursday's action from Connecticut:

Spieth has been inconsistent this season, at least by the standard he's set for himself. The 23-year-old has just one win, at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February, with just one top-10 finish in nine events since that victory. 

Thursday was as good as Spieth has looked over that four-month stretch, with this closing sequence on the final hole to take the lead, via PGA Tour:

Justin Ray of the Golf Channel noted Spieth's 63 at the Travelers Championship was one for the record books:

It would be an understatement to call Wagner and Stegmaier's presence atop the leaderboard a surprise. Wagner has missed six straight cuts and only made four cuts in 18 events prior to this weekend. 

After completing his round, Wagner told reporters his ability to save himself on the first hole and record a birdie was huge, via Steph Sheehan of the Hartford Courant:

Stegmaier hasn't fared much better this season, with 13 missed cuts in 19 events. His opening-round 64 marked his best single round since the final round at the 2016 Wyndham Championship last August when he finished fifth overall. 

The Travelers Championship is a big event for Stegmaier as far as his career goes, per the PGA Tour Media:

After missing the cut at the U.S. Open last week, Rory McIlroy had a much-needed bounce-back performance. The 28-year-old shot a three-under 67 and is firmly in contention heading into Friday. 

McIlroy's lone bogey came on the 18th hole, which came right after this long birdie putt on the previous hole, via PGA Tour:

Despite that one blunder on the 18th hole, the PGA Tour noted on Twitter McIlroy was brilliant throughout the round in three key categories:

The same can't be said for Bubba Watson, who Ray noted has towered over the rest of the field in this tournament over the past five years:

Everything seemed to go wrong for Watson on Thursday. He finished with a five-over par 75 that included a run of three straight bogeys from No. 3 through 5 and the dreaded triple-bogey eight on No. 13. 

While the cut line won't be known until Friday afternoon, it will likely take a Herculean effort in the second round for Watson to have any hope of playing this weekend, let alone having a chance to win a third-career Travelers Championship. 

Spieth has set the bar for the rest of the field to reach heading into the second round. Wagner and Stegmaier's recent struggles do leave the door open for players like McIlroy and Graham DeLaet (-5) to make big moves on Friday that will put the pressure back on Spieth.