The Open Championship 2012: Tiger Woods Consistent Play Points to Big Sunday Run

Sometimes the old adage “slow and steady wins the race” rings true in sports.

That is certainly the case this week at the British Open at Royal Lytham.

Tiger Woods isn’t tearing up the course after his three-under 67 gave him a six-under mark after Round 2, but he’s playing with the sort of steady confidence that suggests he’ll be on the prowl for the win on Sunday. Currently he's in sole possession of third place. 

The most memorable shot of his round came was the final one.

Stuck in one of the Open’s wicked sand traps at No. 18, he struck the ball with perfect force and it bounced in the cup, notching a birdie, when a bogey looked to be where he was heading.

He’ll have to catch leader Brandt Snedeker (-10), who has shocked the golfing world with his performance over the first two days. During one red-hot stretch in his six-under performance on Friday, he birdied five of six holes in route to a second straight bogey-free day.  

According to ESPN's Justin Ray, only two other players in the last 20 years have been without a bogey through the first 36 holes of a major. He has tied Nick Faldo for the lowest 36-hole score in the history of the Open.

While this has been quite the performance, it’s hard to envision a scenario where this keeps up. After all, Snedeker’s never even made the cut at this tournament. With the pressure mounting, I’d be shocked to see him maintain this level of play for the final 36 holes.

With Phil Mickelson out of the picture after registering an 11-over par through two days (T-147), the only real threat resides in Adam Scott. Scott is right behind Snedeker at nine-under. He has been a birdie machine and is going to be right in the thick of things alongside Woods.

Yet, if Tiger continues to play with such consistency, it might not even matter.

Woods has hit 26 of 28 fairways and 29 of 36 greens thus far (via theopen.com), as he seems to be striking every shot with the sort of focus we haven’t seen in quite some time. It seems as if he isn’t thinking about the mechanics of his new swing anymore and is just letting it rip.

We all know Tiger has won three events this season, and we all know he has come up way short in the two majors. He can win all the non-majors in the world, but the true mark of a great golfer hinges on his ability to rise above the competition when the stakes are at its highest.

For the first time in quite a while, he seems to be doing just that.

But before we get too excited over Woods’ performance, we are reminded by ESPN Stats & Info of his recent play in majors when notching two strong early rounds:

"

Tiger Woods has been in the top-3 entering the weekend of a major 4 times since 2009 but has not won any of them

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) July 20, 2012"

So while there is certainly reason for excitement, let’s not crown him the champion just yet. With strong winds forecast for Sunday, there are plenty of scenarios that could play out.

Yet with everything taken into consideration, there is real reason to be excited about Woods this weekend at Royal Lytham.

Woods is as closed to “back” as he’s been in quite some time.

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