Bridgestone Invitational 2012: Tiger Must Gain Momentum Before PGA Championship

Tiger Woods has earned a subpar performance if he winds up laying an egg at the 2012 Bridgestone Invitational.

He has dominated the PGA Tour this year. The man who everybody had pegged for finished is first in earnings and first in the FedEx Cup standings in 2012.

Woods has shown us that he isn't ready to fade back into the shadows yet. He has compiled five top-five finishes, three tournament victories and slew of magical moments for the fans.

But just because he has earned the right to fall below the bar in a tournament, doesn't mean that he won't suffer if he does. 

The PGA Championship is just a week away, and if Tiger wants to have any momentum heading into the South Carolina tournament, he'll need to build it in Akron this weekend.

Tiger's first step in doing that would be to get off to a hot start in Round 1. Of course, that's easier said than done, but we seldom see him perform well when he gets off to a poor start.

That shouldn't be a problem for him. He's won seven times at the Firestone Country Club since he joined the PGA Tour, but his eighth could be the most important.

He's had to deal with the entire golf world questioning whether he will ever win another major. With the PGA Championship so close, people are going to be biting at his ankles more than ever if he puts on a terrible show at the Bridgestone Invitational.

We've seen a bit of a strange trend from Woods this year.

He won the Arnold Palmer Invitational, the tournament before playing rather poorly in The Masters. Before the U.S. Open, Tiger won the Memorial Tournament before finishing 21st at the Olympic Club.

The only time he didn't win before a major tournament was before The Open Championship when he missed the cut at the Greenbrier Classic. However, he won the AT&T National which was the tournament before the Greenbrier.

Throughout Tiger's career, we've learned that momentum is a big part of his game. When he gets on a roll, it's hard for anyone to match his effort.

So far, so good for Tiger, as he looks pretty good so far in Akron.