Tiger Woods Needs to Find Killer Instinct This Weekend at Open Championship

Tiger Woods needs to rekindle his patented intimidation factor this weekend at Royal Lytham & St. Annes if he has any hopes of winning the 2012 Open Championship or any other major going forward. 

There's no doubt that Woods' golf game is back to championship form. The only thing that's missing these days is his killer instinct.

After two rounds, Woods is sitting pretty in third place at six-under par—four shots off of Brandt Snedeker's lead. He'll be playing in the second-to-last group on Saturday, and another solid round like the ones he's put together the first two days will likely put him in the final group on Sunday.

Woods has started getting his swagger back over the last few months. His amazing chip-in on the 16th hole at the Memorial Tournament—Jack Nicklaus' event—was the first sign that the old Tiger is returning. 

He did it again on Friday at the Open Championship—on the 18th hole, no less. After hitting it in the greenside bunker on his second shot, Woods hit a perfect bunker shot with laser-scope precision that ended up in the bottom of the cup for his fourth birdie of the day.

Woods is getting his mojo back, but he's not there yet.

The thing is: nobody's really scared of Tiger these days.

He was in even better shape after two rounds at the U.S. Open—tied for the lead after two rounds—and completely fell apart over the weekend. Until Woods proves that he can play championship golf for four consecutive rounds, his peers aren't going to fear him like they used to do. 

It's time for Woods to rediscover the killer instinct that made him the most feared and respected golfer on the planet. Until he does, he'll continue to be just another guy out there on the golf course. 

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