The Open 2017: Leaderboard, live updates, scores from Thursday’s round at Royal Birkdale

Jordan Spieth put a target on his back as the guy to beat at Royal Birkdale after his bogey-free, opening-round 5-under 65 got him to the top of the 2017 British Open leaderboard.

Spieth, with two PGA Tour wins this year, was not flawless in tough conditions in the morning, but the world No. 3 was able to mitigate his few miscues with scrambling saves and a hot putter.

The first wave of scores are now being posted at Royal Birkdale and it does appear the opening round will not be as brutal as initially feared. It’s not easy, of course, but we do have some rounds in the red. In the first hour there, it looked like everyone would be shooting 75 or worse on this ugly, windy, nasty day on the northwest coast of England.

This was an Open Championship, after all, that started with a tee ball rocketed out-of-bounds and a resultant snowman on the card of Mark O’Meara. But some of the earliest tee times are proving that there are rounds to be had out there, starting with Welshman Stuart Manley. You’ve probably never heard of Manley, who sounds like a made-up British name they’d write in a fictional script about The Open. He’s 38 years old, a Euro journeyman with only a Challenge Tour win to his name, and he is playing in his first ever major championship. Manley is 2-under and in the Birkdale clubhouse with the early lead thanks to an eagle-birdie finish.

Well, we’re playing golf in ties, cardigans, and button-down shirts again.

The Open Championship always produces a host of interesting fashion choices and Justin Thomas fired the first volley this week with his Thursday outfit. The young American star showed up on the range at Royal Birkdale in a polo outfit that seemed more suitable for church or a formal occasion than a multi-million dollar pressure-packed sporting spectacle.

If Rory McIlroy gets off to a poor start in Thursday’s opening round of the British Open, he could well be on his way to a third straight worldwide missed cut and the fourth in his last five starts, says Colin Montgomerie.

Limping into the third major on the men’s calendar after early exits from the U.S. Open in June and the Irish and Scottish Opens earlier this month, McIlroy dusted off his oft-repeated mantra that his game was close to regaining its winning form.