British Open 2012: Can Tiger Take Down Adam Scott and the Rest of the Field?

At 67 and three under, Tiger Woods is just three stokes behind the leader, Australia’s Adam Scott, at the 2012 British Open. 

Although Woods started the day on a torrid pace—he birdied four of his first seven holes—reality eventually caught up with him and his game leveled out.

Scott capitalized down the stretch, birdying four of his five holes from 11 through 15, as he took the lead for good when his first round was all said and done. 

The Australian’s game was superb, as he nearly shot the lowest round in a major championship at 62, demonstrating adept poise and good concentration at Royal Lytham & St. Annes. 

A win at the British Open would be the sort of career-defining victory that Scott has so eagerly yearned for.

However, the competition is strong this year, and Scott will need to continue his play at an elevated pace if he has any chance of holding off Woods, Germany’s Nicolas Colsaerts, Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy and the rest of the field. 

A win for Woods would also be monumental by any standards. 

After winning the AT&T National and the Memorial Tournament earlier this summer, Woods will be looking for a win at the British Open to silence his critics and reinforce the tremendous confidence in his game. In fact, Woods has won three of his last seven tournaments, seriously suggesting that his game has returned to that of what it once was. 

But a win in the British Open would be different.

Tiger would finally be back, at least all the way back.

Unlike other PGA tour members, the metrics for measuring Woods’ success are different. He is not judged by how many tournaments he wins, rather by how many majors.

The AT&T National and the Memorial Tournament are nice, but people want to see Woods compete on golf’s biggest stages. 

Woods was short on a few greens today, and will need to tighten up his putting game if he hopes to get atop the leaderboard. His tee shots were fantastic however, and his chipping was also above average.

Solving some problems on the fairway will also benefit him in his next round. Once he figures it all out, he should be able to give problems to Scott and the rest of the field.

The back nine saw Woods shoot par on every hole except the 15th, where he bogeyed the par-four, 462-yard hole. Even though it was not the type of performance to rival that of his first nine holes, it still kept Woods in the hunt for first place. 

As of now ,the world’s No. 1 through No. 3, Luke Donald, Rory McIlroy and Lee Westwood, respectively, have one major win combined.

A resounding win by Woods this weekend could be what it takes to propel him from his world No. 4 ranking, back to No. 1.

Although Donald, McIlroy and Westwood have the game to compete with Woods on any given round, none will be excited to face this Tiger Woods, brimming with confidence and just hitting his stride. 

There are still many factors heading into Friday and the rest of the weekend. 

The weather at Royal Lytham & St. Annes is always questionable, and if the wind decides to act up, then the complexion of the game can seriously change. 

Someone in the field could make a run at the top of the leaderboard and cause some added competition to Woods, Scott and the other favorites. 

Nevertheless, these types of majors have a habit of becoming all about Tiger. 

Maybe it is because of his recent success, or maybe people like a redemption story. Whatever it is, Scott and co. should watch out, some nice rolls here and there could have Tiger back on top in no time.