Tiger Woods British Open: Early Success Points Toward Fourth Open Title

It's been six years since Tiger Woods claimed his third British Open Championship, but if Woods' early success in the 2012 British Open is any indication, he'll end his six-year drought on Sunday.

Woods currently sits at No. 3 on the leaderboard at six under after shooting back-to-back 67's in the opening rounds of the tournament. Woods' early success puts him behind Adam Scott (-9) and surprise tournament leader Brandt Snedeker (-10), but when Woods is on top of his game, he only needs to be within striking distance on the tournament's last day.

Deadly accuracy has paced Woods' early performance. Out of 28 total fairways, Woods has hit 26 (good for the tournament lead in fairway percentage with 92.6). When Woods keeps it on the fairway, he's hard to beat. 

Historically, Woods has needed to have success in the second round to win at the major tournaments. According to ESPN Stats & Info, Woods has broken 70 in the second round in every one of his 14 major victories. 

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Why 2nd round at Majors historically has been so important for Tiger Woods: he has broken 70 in 2nd round in all 14 of his Major victories

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

With the second round now out of the way, the question becomes whether Woods can close out the weekend in his old form to claim the title. With Woods hitting the ball so accurately off the tee, it's hard to envision him not at least contending toward the end.

With Scott and Snedeker seeking their first major victories, Woods will have the advantage of having been there before. As the pressure mounts, Woods will need to use his experience to his advantage to claim the victory over both Scott and Snedeker.