2023 Memorial Tournament leaderboard, scores: Jordan Spieth, Jon Rahm lurk behind Davis Riley after Round 1

Big names rose to the top of the leaderboard setting up an exciting final three days

It was only the first round, but already Muirfield Village was firm, fast and fiery as the 2023 Memorial Tournament got underway Thurday. Mirroring major championship conditions, Jack's Place has often identified the best players and the first round of this year's tournament was no different. Three-time major champion Jordan Spieth utilized a late birdie to climb up the leaderboard before a bogey on the last dropped him a couple behind first-round leader Davis Riley at 5 under.

"The course is just really firm and fast and the rough's up," said Spieth after the round. "The fairways are bouncing more than normal. We normally get rain here. So, you can talk about the greens surfaces, but they were appropriately firm, I thought, and extremely pure. Probably the best surfaces I've ever putted on in an afternoon on a Thursday. You really just didn't have to fix hardly anything. I was shocked at how fantastic they were."

It has been an inauspicious month for the three-time major champion, and his first-round 69 may be a sign of him turning a corner. After making a run at the Masters and losing in a playoff at the RBC Heritage, Spieth has since gone onto miss the cut at the Wells Fargo Championship, injure his wrist and miss the cut at Colonial (a known hotbed for Spieth). The possible return to form could not have come at a better time as the third major championship of the season looms in a couple weeks time.