British Open Results 2012: Analyzing What Went Right and Wrong for Top Stars

The weather wasn't terrible, the course played favorably and the field took advantage of it. Thursday at the British Open was a fine way to open golf's oldest tournament.

But how did the stars of the game fare on Thursday? Which player plunked a fan, leading to a double-bogey? Which player seemed to hit everything except for the fairway? What went well, and what went poorly?

Let's find out.

Tiger Woods

Tiger was brilliant on the front nine, steady down the back and finished with a very promising 67 (-3) on Thursday.

After seven holes, Tiger stood four-under par and looked headed to an epic first day. He came back down to earth after that, playing par the rest of the day with just one bogey on 15 (quite an eventful hole, as we'll see below).

Had Woods putted a bit better on Thursday, he could have easily been sitting at or just behind the six-under 64 that leader Adam Scott shot on the day. Things look up for Tiger, but he played well early in the Masters and U.S. Open as well.

But if he can remain consistent and hit a few more putts, look out—his majors drought might be over.

Phil Mickelson

What didn't go wrong for Phil Mickelson on Thursday?

He bogeyed four holes, double-bogeyed another, offset some of the damage with three birdies and finished with a disappointing 73 (+3) on the day.

Not surprisingly, he was candid about just how poor his play was (via Lynn Zinser of The New York Times):

"

"You know what, I putted poorly today and I drove it horrific and the chipping was below average," Mickelson replied when asked about his round.

"

He wasn't done.

"

"And so I shot three over. You know, this is a very playable course with the soft conditions and the soft greens and so forth. And if you keep the ball in the fairway, you can make birdies. And I hit it terribly. I hit it in the rough. And the rough is not very playable. And you've got to keep it into the fairway, end of story. I hit some bad long irons.

"

I can't argue with Mickelson's assessment. This was not his day, and if he isn't better from the tee moving forward, it most certainly won't be his tournament.

I had a funny feeling he would struggle on Thursday. Truth be told, it could have been worse. It's time Lefty made some adjustments.

Rory McIlroy

The key for McIlroy on Thursday was maintaining his composure after hitting a fan with a wayward approach shot (above) on 15 and double-bogeying the hole.

He could have lost his cool or seen his confidence take a dip. Instead, he birdied 16 and 18 to end his first day with a 67 (-3).

For all of the talk coming into this tournament about McIlroy missing four of his last six cuts or complaining about the weather after last year's Open Championship, McIlroy simply put his head down and played very nice golf on Thursday.

He looked more like the player that destroyed the field in last year's U.S. Open, and less like the player who has been so disappointing of late. Like Woods, consistency will be the key. If he maintains his steady play through the weekend, he'll contend for the championship.

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