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GREENSBORO — When Jordan Spieth reached Sedgefield Country Club on Tuesday morning for the opening round of the FootJoy Invitational, he wasn't even sure he would be competing.

The No. 3 player in the Polo Golf Rankings had pulled out of Monday's practice round after just three holes with pains in his neck, so participation in the American Junior Golf Association event wasn't a sure thing.

"But it felt good on the range, and I was just trying to take it easy the first few holes and make some pars and wait for a couple birdie chances," said Spieth, a Dallas native who is the highest ranked player in the field.

"And that's what happened."

He certainly made the most of those chances in the first round — carding five birdies on his way to a 4-under 66 that left him just one stroke behind leader M.J. Maguire. Spieth's round included a gorgeous 5-iron approach shot from the rough on the long Par-4 18th for a finishing birdie.

But his one bogey on the scorecard actually played a helpful role in the round.

On the par-3 12th, Spieth hit his tee shot to the back of the green with a front pin location. With a large ridge to negotiate because of his mistake, the resulting putt rolled off the green and 30 yards down the fairway.

He played a poor chip 12 feet past the hole, but this time the touchy putt found the cup to limit the damage.

"Just kind of tapped it and it held its line and went in," Spieth said. "I think that was the big putt of my round. It kept me in a good mood."

Maguire was in the first group of the day. He made a bogey on the first hole, but that was his only blemish. He made 11 pars and six birdies the rest of the way, including a birdie on No. 18.

Maguire's score held up, but four players reached 4-under.

Mario Clemens, ranked No. 33, matched Spieth with a "steady" 66.

"I try to be real calm, I walk slow &ellipses; I played good," he said.

Rak Cho and Ian McConnell joined Spieth and Clemens at 4-under.

The weather at Sedgefield was perfect, although plenty hot during the middle part of the day. Cho said he thought the fairways and greens were softer than last year, and the course was playing a little easier as a result.

Last year's winner, Cameron Peck, shot 271 for his four rounds.

"It's really easy to chip because it's soft and you can just, like, land it and just stop the ball," Cho said.

The greens were given multiple positive reviews, and Spieth called them "perfect."

"I love them," he said. "They're not wicked fast, but they're really quick, so you've got to be really consistent with your shot to not put it above the hole."

Of the junior golfers from North Carolina, Logan Harrell and Andrew Decker (who was at 4-under at one point) shot the lowest score with matching 70s.

Robert Register and Robert Hoadley (UNCG signee) were close behind with 71s.

"It went OK. I struggled a little bit on the greens, hit the ball really well," said Register, who is from Burlington.

"But overall I'm pretty satisfied."

With so many top players in contention, the course included not only spectators but also plenty of college coaches — from both local and national schools — scouting for potential recruits.

And as if that wasn't incentive enough to play well, there's always the fact that the winner on Friday will return to Sedgefield in August to play in the PGA Tour's Wyndham Championship on a sponsor's exemption.

"It puts a little pressure on everyone, I know, inside, but it's awesome," Spieth said. "I know they did it last year to Cameron (Peck), and I talked to him about it and he had so much fun playing with the pros."

Contact Jesse Baumgartner at 373-7091 or jesse.baumgartner@news-record.com