British Open 2017: Live Leaderboard Results for Thursday at Royal Birkdale

The 2017 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale in Southport, England, resembles many past Opens.

In other words, it's cold, gray and windy out, and most golfers aren't doing well adapting to the conditions and links-style course.

It's been an interesting challenge so far, but a few golfers have managed to succeed, most notably Jordan Spieth and Brooks Koepka.

Here's a look at their performances on Thursday, along with two other Open storylines.

Leaderboard

Jordan Spieth and Brooks Koepka

Spieth, who nearly won the 2015 Open Championship, looks like the golfer to beat this year after a fantastic five-under-65 round on Thursday that didn't feature a single bogey.

He was fantastic in all phases of the game, most notably his approaches and putting. He hit an incredible 83 percent of his greens in regulation, playing largely mistake-free golf all round.

Koepka didn't look rusty whatsoever after taking a month off following his U.S. Open win. He matched Spieth with a five-under 65 and managed to make four birdies in a six-hole stretch.

Then, after a bogey on the 16th, Koepka proceeded to do this:

Given that scoring conditions will be difficult on Friday due to some impending weather concerns, Spieth and Koepka's strong starts will likely keep them in contention deep into Sunday's final round.

The First Hole (and the Course on the Whole)

The first hole has been a nightmare for most golfers. Here was a snapshot of the results there in the early going, per Jason Sobel of ESPN:

It's been hard for golfers to get off to good starts because of the dreaded first hole, but the entire course (save for the end with two par-five holes that provide great birdie opportunities) has proved to be incredibly difficult.

High scores were the norm in the early going, although conditions improved as the day went on, leading to some lower scores.

Of course, the first hole was no problem for Charley Hoffman. After an errant tee shot that nearly went out of bounds, he hit a ball out of the thick rough and onto the green before rolling into the hole for an eagle (obviously the only one of the day).

Still, given the conditions predicted for tomorrow, expect Royal Birkdale to grit its teeth, leading to even higher scores going into the weekend.

Friday Weather

Speaking of that weather, it was cold and windy during much of the first round on Thursday, which led to some difficult playing conditions and high scores, but the weather on Friday will be far worse.

According to the Met Office, it will be even windier on Friday, with as high as 20-mile-per-hour winds and 35-mile-per-hour gusts. Rain (and even hail) is in the forecast for the tail end of the day.

The gusts will be a problem all day, so it looks like golfers won't be able to avoid problems. One has to wonder whether there will be a weather delay like there was at the 2015 Open.