British Open Scores 2012: Tiger Woods Must Be Content with 3rd-Round Performance

The world's most talented golfer will be unaffected by a third-round slide at the 2012 British Open.

Two scores of 67 were followed by a score of 70 for Tiger Woods Saturday at the Open. It was an outing that included three bogeys after posting just two in the first two rounds.

However, with the exception of poor execution on two of the first three holes, Woods had just as strong a round as any at Royal Lytham.

Poor putting on holes one and three had Woods at a two-over par start. However, following the rough start, Woods would post just one bogey and three birdies to close out the round.

A two-under par performance on the day would have had Woods close to his two three-under par efforts in Rounds 1 and 2.

Woods made his fair share of mistakes in the critical third round, but the bottom line is that he is still six under par and right in the mix for the title in fourth place on the leaderboard.

Consistency has been the name of the game for Woods at the Open. He has continued to put up strong front-nine numbers and ineffective back-nine efforts. After a one-under par effort in the front nine, Woods finished one over par in the back nine of Round 3.

Woods will have to get out of his conservative approach in the back nine of Sunday's final round. Trailing Adam Scott by five shots, Woods will need to take risks in final nine holes and push the pace. Woods has recorded three bogeys and just two birdies in the back nine this tournament.

The third round was executed nearly as efficiently as the first two rounds. The key here is not the fact that he shot 70 on the day, but rather his approach to holes 10 through 18.

Make no mistake about it: aggressive play has to be the area of focus for Woods heading into Sunday. If he wants to make up ground, Woods will have to do it with more confident play in the final nine holes.