Quicken Loans National 2017: David Lingmerth Tops Thursday Leaderboard

David Lingmerth sits atop a crowded leaderboard after Round 1 of the Quicken Loans National at TPC Potomac. 

The 29-year-old used seven birdies to finish with a 65 Thursday, five strokes under par. While he has only one PGA Tour victory in his career, a strong start has him in good shape so far in Maryland.

However, there is still fierce competition as Marc Leishman leads a group of six players sitting at four under.

Here is the leaderboard through Thursday's action: 

1. David Lingmerth (-5)

T2. Daniel Summerhays (-4)

T2. Troy Merritt (-4)

T2. Marc Leishman (-4)

T2. Johnson Wagner (-4)

T2. Sung Kang (-4)

T2. Nick Taylor (-4)

T8. Russell Henley (-3)

T8. Zac Blair (-3)

T8. Martin Laird (-3)

T8. Geoff Ogilvy (-3)

T8. Patrick Reed (-3)

T8. James Hahn (-3)

T8. Bryson DeChambeau (-3)

Full standings are available at PGATour.com.

Lingmerth started on No. 10 and obliterated the back nine to start Round 1. He ended up with six birdies in his first 10 holes, good enough to finish with a 65. The round would have looked even better if not for a bogey on his last hole of the day.

After making the cut in seven straight events, the Swedish golfer has a chance to make a move this week.

Daniel Summerhays stormed up the leaderboard with a birdie-eagle-birdie stretch from holes 12-14, including a hole out from about 105 yards away. He appeared positioned to end the day with a lead but fell apart down the stretch with a bogey and double-bogey down the stretch to finish with a score of four-under.

This kept things open for a long list of competitors well within range of the lead.

Leishman is certainly one of the top contenders after a bogey-free round put him four strokes under par. Russell Henley and Patrick Reed are also intriguing options to break out of the pack.

Bryson DeChambeau is also someone to watch in the coming days after his 67 Thursday.

Rickie Fowler is arguably the biggest star in this event, but he had an adventurous day. Starting on the back nine, he was plus-three through two holes before five total birdies helped him finish even on the day.

"It was a good round after the start," Fowler said afterwards, per Katherine Fitzgerald of USA Today. "It isn't playing easy out there, especially (when) you have to drive it in the fairway. I feel like I drove it well other than the start and a couple holes coming in."

Although he is well off the lead, he remains in the hunt in a tie for 32nd.

Beyond the top finishers, there were some impressive highlights from those further down the leaderboard. Mackenzie Hughes kept his score low thanks to a few impressive shots on the back nine:

Justin Thomas had a rough day, finishing plus-four thanks in part to a quadruple-bogey on the 10th hole. However, this was one impressive shot on No. 3:

He was at least able to laugh at himself about the one miserable hole after the round:

Still, arguably the best shot of the day went to Scott Stallings on this eagle to close out the round:

The key will be to find more consistency on Friday as the players try to survive what could be a low cut line after the second round.

Lingmerth has the early lead in this tournament, although plenty of competitors can take that away by the weekend.