US Open Golf 2012: What Tiger Woods' Mixed Showing Means for His Future

Tiger Woods seemed to be making a major comeback after being on top of the leaderboard for two consecutive days at the U.S. Open Golf 2012.

However, he entered the final day of the tournament at 4-over and did not play much better on Sunday.  He finished with a score of 7-over and dropped completely out of the top 10.

The roller-coaster ride that was Woods' tournament performance just fuels the idea that he is not the same Tiger that has won 14 major championships.

With only two wins in 2012, the Arnold Palmer Invitational and Memorial Tournament, the struggle that started with his well-known personal difficulties continued.  However, his most recent win at the Memorial Tournament on June 3rd silenced many critics and was thought to be the win that would get his career back on track.

You could almost hear his fans and some experts saying, "Tiger's back!", but his showing on the final day of the U.S. Open seemed to quiet the fans and believers.

Tiger led for 36 holes at the major tournament, but his confidence seemed to fizzle as he dropped down the leaderboard.

The fact is, Woods hasn't won a major tournament since the 2008 U.S. Open when he edged out Rocco Mediate in a playoff, and since his divorce, he's looked like he's lost his magic. But for the first time in a while, there's reason to be optimistic.

Woods' mixed showing this weekend showed the golf world two things. One, he is still struggling to find the game that made him the best golfer in the world. Two, he still has the potential to hang around with the best in the world in a major tournament.

He isn't completely back to the good-old Tiger that everyone knew and loved, but he is making progress.

A year ago, we wouldn't have even mentioned Tiger's name as a contender, but this year he has been in the mix a number of times. Although he finished the U.S. Open in miserable fashion, he still looked like the old Tiger for two rounds.

Give the man more time to get his life together and more practice swings, and he will be back. Right now he is making only a little noise, but soon he will roar, and when that happens, he will be hard to stop.