Spieth Alone Atop Leaderboard at Travelers Championship

CROMWELL, CT — The field for this week's Travelers Championship is considered to be the strongest in many years for the event, with two reasons being the presence of first-time participants Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy.

Spieth, who at age 23 has already won nine PGA TOUR events, including a Masters and a U.S. Open, made the most of his first official tour of the TPC River Highlands, firing a 7-under par 63 to claim the outright lead after the opening round.

Starting in early afternoon, the world's number six ranked player birdied the first holes, then added birdies on 4, 7 and 8 before hiccuping with a bogey on 9 to finish the front nine with 31. On the back side, he birdied 13, 14 and 18 to finish his 63 and assume a one-stroke advantage over Johnson Wagner and Brett Stegmaier.

Graham DeLaet and Troy Merritt are tied for fourth place at 65, while a group of 13 players at 66 includes three-time major winner Padraig Harrington and Brian Harman, who tied for second in last week's U.S. Open.

McIlroy, ranked No. 3 in the world, started on the 10th tee at 7:50 a.m., and had four birdies and a bogey in carding a 67, which tied him with "Mr. 58" Jim Furyk and Patrick Reed, among others. Defending champion Russell Knox was among a group of golfers at 69.

Fourth-ranked Jason Day of Australia had an inconsistent day, winding up with 72, including three birdies, three bogeys and a double-bogey at 12 after losing his ball off the tee. Justin Thomas, who tied a longstanding record with a 63 in the third round of the U.S. Open, carded a 73, while two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson, also a two-time winner in Cromwell, struggled to a 75.

Click here for Friday's starting times.

Photo credits: Peter Jonaitis