British Open Tips 2012: What Tigers Woods and Top Stars Must Do to Compete

The British Open commences in two days, and for Tiger Woods and the world's best to win the Claret Jug, there are some specific parts of their games that must be solid throughout the week.

The course at Royal Lytham & St. Annes Golf Club in England will not be easy to master, which means even small mistakes could have an impact on a player's chances of winning.

Let's look at what the top stars must do to be competitive at the British Open.

Tiger Woods

Woods has won the British Open three times, and knows how to play on golf courses similar to what he will face at Royal Lytham & St. Annes Golf Club.

Putting is the biggest key to Woods' success at the tournament. The greens will be large and unforgiving, so not losing strokes by two and three-putting will be important for him.

Woods' success off the tee shouldn't be an issue this week, but his short game and performance on the greens will be the difference.

Phil Mickelson

Mickelson needs to avoid the one disaster hole that hurts his score and his confidence. If he can drive well of the tee this week and give himself a chance to not hit out of the rough as much as possible, he will be fine at the British Open.

Mickelson has not performed as well at the British Open as he has at the other three major championships in his career, but he did finish second last year, so he needs to feel confident about himself going into Thursday.

Rory McIlroy

The British Open is the perfect tournament for McIlroy to have success in and revive his struggling career. McIlroy will be comfortable at the British Open since he is used to the links courses in England and will be closer to his home country of Northern Ireland than he normally is.

Putting will also be a major part of McIlroy's success or failure this week. If he putts well in the first two rounds, his confidence will be sky high going into the weekend. Smart, conservative shots will be the key for McIlroy. Taking risks is a bad strategy for him.