Despite windy conditions at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia, the 2017 Masters got underway Thursday with opening-round competition.Here is a look at the leaderboard thus far, as golfers attempt to position themselves to contend during the weekend when the weather is set to break:There may not be a ton of separation in the early rounds due to the fact the weather will be difficult to tame, so the key for most golfers will be to not play their way out of the tournament.One golfer in particular who tends to excel at that, especially at the Masters, is Jordan Spieth.The 23-year-old Texan won the 2015 Masters and has been near the top of the leaderboard each of the three times he has played at Augusta.In addition to his victory, Spieth finished tied for second in both 2014 and 2016.Last year's second-place result was heartbreaking, as he appeared to have the tournament well in hand before posting a quadruple bogey on the par-three 12th hole in the final round.That allowed Danny Willett to pick up the surprising victory, and it left Spieth searching for answers, as he didn't post another top-10 result in a major for the rest of the season.Despite that, he expressed a great deal of excitement for the Masters entering the start of his first round Thursday, according to Gerry Dulac of thePittsburgh Post-Gazette:I'm excited about the opportunity ahead, which is now I can go back and really tear this golf course up. I've got the opportunity now for the next, again, as many years until the day I get a letter saying, we would appreciate if you sat this one out. I've got that many opportunities to go back and really create more great memories on the back nine of Augusta, which we've had in the past on Sunday. And if it happens this year, fantastic.Spieth has had something of a hit-and-miss 2017 season thus far, but he won the Pebble Beach Pro-Am and has also registered top-10 finishes at the Hero World Challenge, SBS Tournament of Champions, Sony Open and Phoenix Open.He is also aided by the fact that some of his closest competitors are dealing with issues of their own.World No. 1 Dustin Johnson suffered a back injury Wednesday after falling, Jason Day isn't in form and Rory McIlroy has a long history of struggles at the Masters.All of those factors point toward redemption for Spieth at the Masters.While perennial contender Justin Rose and dark horse J.B. Holmes will give Spieth a run for his money, look for the two-time major winner to add a second green jacket to his collection.
Click here to read full news..
