British Open 2012 Pairings: Notable Matchups for Final Round

Six strokes are all that separate the leader, Adam Scott, and the current fifth-place golfers at the 2012 British Open going into the final round.

The final day of the tournament should be an interesting one without any shortage of story lines to keep golf fans, both average and avid, glued to their television sets on Sunday.

Here are some notable pairings for the final round of the British Open and why you should care about them.

Adam Scott and Graeme McDowell

For starters, this pairing contains the top two golfers in the British Open standings going into the final day.

Scott is one of the top golfers on the planet and is looking to solidify himself amongst the best in the sport with his first major victory. If he can manage to hang on at the 2012 British Open, Scott would be the first Aussie to win the event since Greg Norman in 1993.

It's hard to imagine Scott will relinquish the four-stroke lead he has built for himself considering the Australian's all-around game has been nothing short of spectacular throughout the Open Championship.

McDowell's chances of catching Scott aren't ideal, but that doesn't erase the fact that he has a chance. Golf has seen collapses worse than the kind Scott would have to fall victim to, so it isn't out of the realm of possibility that the Irish golfer can be victorious on Sunday.

McDowell is no stranger to winning big events after his victory at the 2010 U.S. Open, so pressure isn't something that this golfer should have a problem with. With the necessary experience under his belt, McDowell is a huge threat to take Scott's top spot on the last day of the tourney.

Tiger Woods and Brandt Snedeker

You already know Woods' story.

Off-the-course controversy brought him from the clouds above the rest of us mortals back down to earth where Woods has struggled ever since. Despite not having won a major recently, Woods has been playing his best golf as of late and has even won three tournaments this year.

Barring an unforeseen collapse from Scott, Woods will need to play like the old Sunday Tiger that used to dominate on any course he played. Make no mistake about it, Woods' winning of a major would easily be the biggest story in golf for 2012 and maybe sports in general.

Tiger's highly-anticipated return to the top of sport could take place on Sunday, and there's no doubt all golf fans will be tuning in to potentially watch it happen.

Snedeker will be playing in the shadow of Woods, but that might be all the 31-year-old needs to make a run and win this tourney. His history in majors isn't good, but with a little pressure off him, Snedeker should be able to play far better than he has in the past.

Only four strokes back and sharing second place with McDowell, Snedeker has a great opportunity to play his way into first place, winning his first major and putting his name on the golf map for good.

Ernie Els and Zach Johnson

Els and Johnson currently sit tied for fifth place in the tourney going into Sunday.

Els will be the sentimental favorite heading into Sunday as the 42-year-old will be looking to capture his fourth career major victory and his second at the British Open. However, it has been 10 years since he last won at the Open Championship.

Despite all that, Els has always been one of the good guys on the PGA Tour, and that always makes him easy to cheer for in any tournament. If he were to win, it would be the first tour victory of the season for Els.

Johnson hasn't had great showings in majors this year, but that can all change on Sunday if the American can sneak out a victory at the British Open. His Masters victory in 2007 proved Johnson is capable of playing big and winning a major, so he certainly can't be ruled out of this one.