Jordan Spieth Makes Late Surge to Salvage Round 1 at PGA Championship 2017

Jordan Spieth was treading water throughout most of Thursday en route to a one-over 72 in the first round of the 2017 PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Spieth, a three-time major champion, is trying to complete the career Grand Slam this week after capturing his first Open Championship title last month. He previously won the Masters and the U.S. Open during his breakout 2015 campaign.

The 24-year-old golf superstar finished Thursday with four bogeys and three birdies. Spieth also did not make a putt longer than 6', per Justin Ray of the Golf Channel.

"I couldn't have putted any worse," Spieth told reporters after the round.

Although he can't be counted out despite the sluggish Round 1, it's now likely going to take three days of nearly flawless shot-making for him to win the season's final major.

Here's a look at the updated tournament leaderboard:

Spieth still has a long career in front of him, so there isn't a serious sense of urgency when it comes to winning the PGA Championship at this stage. It's a far different situation to Phil Mickelson, who's running out of opportunities to take home the elusive U.S. Open trophy.

That said, the University of Texas product pointed out before the event it would be nice to claim victory in one before the pressure does begin to mount, per Karen Crouse of the New York Times.

"I was thinking about it a little [Sunday] on the course," Spieth said. "You know, if you don't win next week, next year obviously you focus on the majors, but the PGA does become kind of that one that's starred and that's so long away, 365 days away."

He added: "If I don't win one in the next 10 years then maybe there's added pressure then. Hopefully we don't have to have this conversation in 10 years."

Winning the PGA Championship would allow him to join Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Ben Hogan, Gary Player and Gene Sarazen as the only holders of the career Grand Slam.

Spieth never seemed to find a rhythm during the opening round, though. While he hit 66.7 percent of the greens in regulation, he often left himself work to grind out pars.

The PGA of America showcased one example at No. 18 after he started on the back nine:

Ted Emrich noted late in the round the 2015 FedEx Cup champion wasn't able to make up for his lack of great iron play on the greens, either:

Yet, things could have been a lot worse after the first day.

Spieth reached three-over par through 15 holes after posting back-to-back bogeys on No. 5 and No. 6, which left him on the brink of creating a massive hole heading into Friday.

He finished strong, however, carding two birdies over the last three holes in order to keep himself well within striking distance. It should also send him into the second round with some positive vibes.

ESPN Stats and Info passed along a worrisome stat concerning his chances, though:

"

Jordan Spieth played his opening round at 1-over. He has never won an official PGA TOUR event after posting an over par score in 1st round.

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) August 10, 2017"

Looking ahead, Spieth remains firmly in the contender category for Friday. Improved performance with his putter in Round 2 would go a long way in allowing him to climb the leaderboard before the weekend. But his margin for error is much thinner following Thursday's action.