British Open Results 2012: Brandt Snedeker and Golfers Who Will Stay Hot

Brandt Snedeker has been perfect through the first 36 holes at the 2012 Open Championship, and several other golfers have been red hot at the tournament.

Snedeker is leading with a score of 10 under with Adam Scott right behind him at nine under. Tiger Woods is in third after shooting six under through the first two rounds, and the full leaderboard can be found at ESPN.com. 

The player who wins at Royal Lytham and St. Annes must stay disciplined and continue to execute.

Here are the golfers who will stay hot all the way through the weekend.

Brandt Snedeker

Snedeker has been on fire to start the tournament.

He is the first player since Woods at the 2000 British Open to start a major without a bogey in the first two rounds, as noted by ESPN.

His freakish focus and discipline has led to two fantastic rounds of golf. His performance in the opening days will give him plenty of confidence to finish the competition. 

Snedeker has laid out a perfect blueprint to follow the rest of the way, and if he executes, he has an excellent shot to win his first major.

Adam Scott

The men who are on top of the leaderboard did not get there by accident.

Scott has played extremely well and tied the course record at Lytham with a score of 64 in Round 1 (Snedeker also tied the mark in Round 2), as noted by USA Today. He had an incredible eight birdies on the first day.

The Aussie is nipping at Snedeker’s heels after letting loose in Lancashire. He has played with intensity and consistency all the way through the first two days.

Scott shows no signs of slowing down and he looks poised to have an excellent weekend.

Tiger Woods

Woods will carry plenty of confidence into Round 3 after closing out the second day in spectacular fashion.

He chipped out of a bunker on the 18th hole and clinked the ball off the flag into the hole for a birdie.

This goosebump-inducing shot put him in third place by himself, and it conjured up memories of the dominance Woods displayed before injuries and scandal derailed his career. 

But he just may be back, and by all appearances, he is setting up for a strong finish.

Graeme McDowell

Youngster Thorbjorn Olesen has put on an inspired performance and occupies fourth place, but Graeme McDowell is one of five players tied for fifth, and the 2010 U.S. Open winner will separate himself on Saturday. 

Olesen is just 22 years old and has already showed a minor lapse in focus by double-bogeying the fourth hole in Round 1. As the pressure increases, his inexperience will hurt him.

Among the players lurking with a score of four under, McDowell is the one who has most recently proved his ability to win a major. Paul Lawrie is the only other player to accomplish this feat, but its been 13 years since he won the British Open. 

Jason Dufner and Matt Kuchar are highly ranked players who are in the mix, but neither have been able to close out on golf’s biggest stages. Experience will be the deciding factor among these players and McDowell will have a solid performance in the remaining rounds.

Day 2 Leaderboard

Position	Player	Score
1	Brandt Snedeker	-10
2	Adam Scott	-9
3	Tiger Woods	-6
4	Thorbjorn Olesen	-5
T5	Paul Lawrie	-4
T5	Graeme McDowell	-4
T5	Thomas Aiken	-4
T5	Jason Dufner	-4
T5	Matt Kuchar	-4
10	Ernie Els	-3

Full leaderboard available on ESPN.com