British Open 2017 Leaderboard: Updating Results and Standings for Thursday

This year marks the 10th time that the Open Championship has been contested at Royal Birkdale. The list of players who have lifted the Claret Jug in Southport, England, reads like a who's who of golf royalty, including Tom Watson, Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino and Peter Thomson.

In fact, only one golfer (Ian Baker-Finch) from that eight-golfer group (Thomson won at Royal Birkdale twice) failed to win another major outside the Open. However, Baker-Finch had a very solid career outside his major victory, including three top-10 finishes at the Masters.

If this trend continues, we'll see another big-name win again. However, some under-the-radar players have posted excellent first-round performances.

Here's a look at three of those golfers, including one who wasn't even in the Open field until the day before the tournament began.

Leaderboard

James Hahn

Hahn wasn't even supposed to be in the tournament, as he entered the week as an alternate.

As he told interviewer Steve Sands in a televised talk following his first round, Hahn was on the 13th tee of a practice round with Tony Finau on Wednesday when he noticed that he had eight missed calls.

Hahn then found out that he was going to play after Brandt Snedeker, who was a pre-tournament sleeper to contend for the Claret Jug, withdrew due to a rib injury.

He stepped in as an alternate and played very well on Thursday, shooting a two-under 68 on the day. If not for a double bogey on the par-five 15th, Hahn would have been four-under and just a shot behind Jordan Spieth and Brooks Koepka.

Hahn has been playing well in his last five tournaments, most notably registering a third-place finish at the AT&T Byron Nelson and tying for sixth at the Memorial. It will be interesting to see whether he keeps his good form throughout the Open.

Richard Bland

Bland has missed half of his 14 cuts this year, but he's had one very notable finish, tying for second place with Sergio Garcia at the BMW International Open.

That flash of brilliance showed on Thursday. Bland was shooting even par for the tournament for 15 holes before catching fire at the end of the first round, making birdies on the final three holes. He was able to hit 83 percent of his greens in regulation.

The English professional has only played in two majors during his career, missing the cut at the 1998 Open Championship (also played at Royal Birkdale) and the 2009 U.S. Open.

That lack of experience could hinder him down the stretch in this year's Open, but Bland was so dominant in his last three holes that one can't help but wonder whether he can use that positive momentum to a solid finish. 

Stuart Manley

Stuart Manley is currently ranked No. 520 on the Official World Golf Ranking. He's won only one event in his 16-year career, and that was in 2013. He's missed 10 of 12 cuts this year, including his last six.

Therefore, you have to forgive Manley for thinking that he wouldn't be the clubhouse leader after he carded a two-under 68:

A few others would pass Manley after he finished his round, but he is still within striking distance of the top of the leaderboard.

This eagle from the bunker on the 17th hole certainly helped his cause:

It's the same deal with Manley as it is with Bland: Manley could certainly use his hot first-round finish to propel himself to a very good tournament.