British Open: Adam Scott Too Far Ahead for Tiger Woods to Catch on Sunday

Tiger Woods needed a better performance on Day 3 of the 2012 Open Championship, and Adam Scott now possesses a commanding lead that will carry him to his first win at a major.

Woods finished even on his third time through the course and his overall score for the tournament is still -6. This puts him in fourth place, while Scott is at -11. 

Woods looked doomed to repeat his dreadful third-round performance at the U.S. Open last month when he bogeyed two of the first three holes at Royal Lytham and St. Annes. But the three-time British Open champion collected himself and pulled to one under par as he finished the front nine. 

He stayed conservative the rest of the way, but Scott, in contrast, was fearless and continued to take bold shots.

Scott tied a course record on the opening day with a score of 64 by using a different strategy than many of the other contestants.

After his impressive Round 1 performance, the 32-year-old told the following to Jeff Shain of the Orlando Sentinel.

"

Play the first hole at the tournament like it's the 72nd and you've got to make (a birdie) to win. Really switch on right from the first tee and not just see how it goes for the first few holes. That was really the difference.

"

His aggressive play starts with his tee shot, and he is leading the tournament in driving distance with an average of 319.8 yards. Scott has also refused to settle for par and his 15 birdies tops all golfers in Lancashire.

Throwing caution to the wind like this often comes with risk, but Scott has been focused and has only bogeyed four holes in three rounds. This is a remarkable accomplishment considering there are 205 bunkers that litter the course.

Now, Woods must change his strategy and mimic the game plan that Scott has been executing to perfection for the past three days. With five strokes to make up, one mistake can doom Woods, and there is no shortage of hazards to force an error. 

The Aussie’s daring approach to the tournament has put him in an ideal position heading into Sunday. He simply needs to stay the course and he will finish off the finest performance of his career.