Tiger Woods British Open 2012: Why Tiger's Strong Start Is Meaningless

Tiger Woods has come out of the gates strong at Royal Lytham St. Anne, but we must hold the hype train until the final day. He shot a three-under 67 in the first round, and you know the chatter about winning another major will get louder with him in contention early.

Tiger has had strong beginnings in tournaments at other times this year, but he has been derailed by the one bad day. It's not to say that he hasn't had a good year thus far.

He's already won three times this year, and a strong showing at Royal Lytham could land him as the No. 1-ranked player in the world.

But fans are waiting on his return to major championship glory. It seemed like Woods was in place to capture that glory at the US Open.

He was right in the thick of things through the first two rounds at the Olympic Club in San Francisco, but then came the third and fourth rounds.

Woods wilted and faded from serious contention with a 74 and 75 on the final two days, respectively.

Could that happen at The Open?

Of course it could, though it seems a little less likely. The course is playing far less challenging, and Woods is playing well and with confidence. But then again, I felt the same way at the US Open.

At this stage of the event, and with Woods not even topping the leaderboard, it is far too early to start talking about winning the whole thing.

I know he's the straw that stirs the drink, but any talk of a title before the final day—or at least before he grabs the overall lead—is way too soon.

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