Jordan Spieth has struggled of late, but the Valspar Championship presented a great bounce-back opportunity due to his status as defending champion.

Unfortunately, the world No. 1 couldn't get on track during Thursday's opening round at Innisbrook Resort in Palm Harbor, Florida. Spieth posted a five-over 76 to start, putting him in danger of missing a second cut in three starts.

Beginning his day on the back nine, the 22-year-old stumbled out of the gates and couldn't scramble enough to salvage what was a woeful ball-striking round. Check out his scorecard below, per PGATour.com:



Source: PGATour.com.

The only truly positive highlight of the round came at the par-four 12th, where Spieth carded his lone birdie:



After opening bogey-bogey @ValsparChamp, Jordan Spieth gets one back. https://t.co/wibWFPsCzF

For someone as accomplished as Spieth, it was astonishing to see him hit only six of 18 greens in regulation. His usually crisp iron play was all over the place, and even his often reliable putter kept failing him.

Getting out of position off the tee also prevented Spieth from attacking certain pins as he'd have wanted to; he missed six of 13 fairways. PGA.com reacted as Spieth played a recovery shot from a spot of bother:



This photo pretty much sums up @JordanSpieth's day at the @ValsparChamp. pic.twitter.com/dpfiawSOf2

Jason Sobel of ESPN.com provided some fitting analysis in the midst of Spieth's performance:



Hilarious scorching hot Twitter takes on Jordan Spieth based on seven holes in Tampa:--"He's no Tiger!"--"He's slumping!"--"He's done!"

There's no denying Spieth is the next big thing in American golf, which will inevitably bring about comparisons to Tiger Woods. This isn't fair to Spieth or any of the younger players, but Woods' impact on the game was so significant that many fans still long for his glory days.

One area where Woods will likely forever reign superior is his knack for making cuts. Spieth may well miss out on the weekend unless he's able to come up with a special score Friday.

Also to consider is Spieth's aforementioned age. Adam Sarson of The Score had a fitting response to those who are so quick to write the two-time major champion off:



How you should respond if people start overreacting about Jordan Spieth: pic.twitter.com/dtz5eRU64Y

As recently as January, Spieth blew away everyone at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions with a score of 30 under par. No one on the planet who tees it up is immune to having a bad showing on the course, no matter how gifted they are at golf.

Thursday wasn't even Spieth's worst round of the season. He shot an eight-over 79 at the Northern Trust Open, and although he missed the cut there, he did bounce back commendably with a three-under 68 the following round.

It's quite an achievement to break par at Innisbrook's Copperhead Course as it is. When Spieth won this event last year, he was the only player to post under-par scores in all four rounds.

Brian Davis carded a second-round 76 at the 2015 Valspar Championship and managed to still finish in the top 10, so Spieth can certainly salvage a strong result if he bounces back on short order.

No matter what happens in this tournament, though, Spieth has to be a bit discouraged with the Masters not far away. He's defending at Augusta National and would do well to string together some solid form before his bid for a second straight green jacket.
