2012 Open Championship Results: Tiger Woods Moves To Second In World Golf Rankings

Tiger Woods finished in third-place at the 2012 British Open, after entering the tournament as a favorite. Nevertheless, Woods' play of late has him climbing back up the rankings in the golf world. Following his finish at the Open, Woods now ranks second on the World Golf Rankings.

Luke Donald tops the list. Donald finished in a tie for fifth-place at the British Open. Woods switched places with Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy, who drops to third place now. The difference between the two golfers on the rankings list is a mere fraction of a point.

Lee Westwood is in fourth place on the list. Webb Simpson, who won the U.S. Open this year, is in the fifth spot. Adam Scott sits at sixth, and British Open winner Ernie Els moved into the top 15.

For more on the Open, stick with SB Nation Tampa Bay's 2012 British Open StoryStreamand SB Nation's golf hub for all the latest news year-round.

VIDEO: Ernie Els Gives Moving Thanks In Speech After Winning 2012 British Open

Ernie Els's victory in the 2012 British Open was viewed as a surprise, but given how he handled his post-victory speech to the crowd, it sounded as if he expected to win all along.

The highlight of his words was easily his thanks to former South Africa president Nelson Mandela for uniting the country through his work.

"I've got to thank, obviously, first of all, you know, President Mandela, who's been such a great influence in our country. We have been truly blessed to have a man like President Mandela take us through a very difficult time in our country. And everybody now, we can see the success of the country, now, and it's only because of President Mandela."

You can check out the full video of the speech HERE. The mix of humor and overall kindness in his words is what makes him a fan favorite on the PGA Tour.

For more on the Open, stick with SB Nation Tampa Bay's 2012 British Open StoryStreamand SB Nation's golf hub for all the latest news year-round.

2012 British Open Purse: Ernie Els Takes Home Prize Of Nearly $1.4 Million

After bringing home the 2012 British Open title at Royal Lytham & St. Annes, Ernie Els has a nice payday coming his way, as he will be awarded $1.394 million of the total purse of $8 million.

In addition to missing out on a major title with his collapse down the stretch, Adam Scott also cost himself a large amount of change, as his payout for second place is approximately $800,000 after the conversion from Euros.

Tiger Woods finished in a tie for third Brandt Snedeker, and the two will each take home a nice prize of $375,802.

A full breakdown of the prize amounts can be found HERE. The purse of $8 million was unchanged from 2011.

You can find a full 2012 British Open Leaderboard at Golf.com.

For more on the Open, stick with SB Nation Tampa Bay's 2012 British Open StoryStream and SB Nation's golf hub for all the latest news year-round.

2012 British Open Results: Ernie Els Wins After Shocking Collapse By Adam Scott

Despite having a four shot lead with four holes to play, Adam Scott fell apart down the stretch, losing the 2012 British Open after bogeying the remaining holes of his round to allow Ernie Els to take home the title with a score of seven-under.

Sunday proved to be a very difficult day on the course, as Scott was already one-over on the day before his collapse, finishing the day at five-over and six-under for the tournament.

Els was the only golfer who finished in the top ten with a score below par during the final round, which attributed greatly to his win. Tiger Woods finished in a tie for third place with Brandt Snedeker at three-under par.

This is the fourth major win for Els, as he now has two Claret Jugs to go with two U.S. Open titles.

You can find a full 2012 British Open Leaderboard at Golf.com.

For more on the Open, stick with SB Nation Tampa Bay's 2012 British Open StoryStreamand SB Nation's golf hub.

2012 British Open Leaderboard: Tiger Woods Falls Apart As Adam Scott Still Leads

Tiger Woods is in the middle of a rough final round of the 2012 British Open, as he has stumbled through a round of three-over through 14 holes. Woods, who began the day well within contention of the title, now sits six strokes back of leader Adam Scott.

Scott has also had his troubles, posting a score of two-over through 13 holes. He still sits in good shape, three strokes ahead of the next closest golfer at nine-under. Graeme McDowell also has had his trouble, shooting four-over through 14 holes to fall off the pace to win.

Ernie Els seems to be the only golfer toward the top of the leaderboard that hasn't had trouble, as he has put in a round of one-under through 15 holes and sits at six-under.

You can find a full 2012 British Open Leaderboard at Golf.com.

For more on the Open, stick with SB Nation Tampa Bay's 2012 British Open StoryStreamand SB Nation's golf hub.

British Open 2012: Tee Times And Pairings For Sunday

After shooting a 68 on Saturday, Adam Scott stands 18 holes away from winning his first major. Currently, he's atop the leaderboard at 11-under par following three rounds. Brandt Snedeker and Graeme McDowell of Ireland sit four shots back of Scott at seven-under par following 54 rounds, and Tiger Woods is at six-under.

Heading into the final round of the British Open, here are the tee times and pairings for Sunday at the Royal Lytham & St. Annes golf course in Lancashire, England.

2:20 a.m. - Martin Laird
2:30 a.m. - John Daly and Tom Watson
2:40 a.m. - Jeev Milkha Singh and Rafael Cabrera-Bello
2:40 a.m. - Charles Howell III and Ross Fisher
3 a.m. - Chad Campbell and Andres Romero
3:10 a.m. - Lee Slattery and John Senden
3:20 a.m. - Warren Bennett and Aaron Baddeley
3:30 a.m. - Juvic Pagunsan and Retief Goosen
3:40 a.m. - Bob Estes and Richard Sterne
3:55 a.m. - Rory McIlroy and Fredrik Jacobson
4:05 a.m. - Brendan Jones and Ted Potter Jr.
4:15 a.m. - Thongchai Jaidee and Yoshinori Fujimoto
4:25 a.m. - Gonzalo Fernadez-Castano and Nicolas Colsaerts
4:35 a.m. - Pablo Larrazabal and K.J. Choi
4:45 a.m. - Sang-moon Bae and Adilson Da Silva
4:55 a.m. - Lee Westwood and Toshinori Muto
5:05 a.m. - Geoff Ogilvy and Miguel Angel Jimenez
5:15 a.m. - Ian Poulter and Greg Owen
5:30 a.m. - Branden Grace and Jim Furyk
5:40 a.m. - Rafael Echenique and Troy Matteson
5:50 a.m. - Gary Woodland and Rickie Fowler
6 a.m. - Paul Lawrie and Carl Pettersson
6:10 a.m. - Simon Dyson and Garth Mulroy
6:20 a.m. - Jamie Donaldson and Dale Whitnell
6:30 a.m. - Francesco Molinari and Harris English
6:40 a.m. - Padraig Harrington and Joost Luiten
6:55 a.m. - Steve Stricker and Peter Hanson
7:05 a.m. - Thomas Bjorn and Hunter Mahan
7:15 a.m. - Alexander Noren and Justin Hicks
7:25 a.m. - Matthew Baldwin and Keegan Bradley
7:35 a.m. - Steven Alker and James Morrison
7:45 a.m. - Greg Chalmers and Simon Khan
7:55 a.m. - Anirban Lahiri and Nick Watney
8:05 a.m. - Vijay Singh and Jason Dufner
8:20 a.m. - Luke Donald and Kyle Stanley
8:30 a.m. - Dustin Johnson and Matt Kuchar
8:40 a.m. - Mark Calcavecchia and Louis Oosthuizen
8:50 a.m. - Bubba Watson and Thomas Aiken
9 a.m. - Bill Haas and Thorbjorn Olesen
9:10 a.m. - Ernie Els and Zach Johnson
9:20 a.m. - Tiger Woods and Brandt Snedeker
9:30 a.m. - Graeme McDowell and Adam Scott

For more on the Open, stick with SB Nation Tampa Bay's 2012 British Open StoryStreamand SB Nation's golf hub.

British Open 2012: Woods, Snedeker And McDowell All Chasing Adam Scott

Round three of the 2012 British Open from Royal Lytham & St. Annes golf course in Lancashire, England is in the books. And just like after Thursday's opening round, Australia's Adam Scott finds himself in the lead at 11-under par.

American Brandt Snedeker and Ireland's Graeme McDowell are looking up at Scott on the leaderboard as both are tied for second place at seven-under par through 54 holes of golf.

The favorite to win, Tiger Woods finds himself right there as well at six-under par after going even in round three on Saturday.

Woods has played well during the tournament connecting on 72.2 percent on greens in regulation and landing on the fairway 88.1 percent of the time. Those numbers are usually good enough for any golfer to win,let alone Woods, but Scott has made fewer mistakes which is why he finds himself the frontrunner going into Sunday's final round.

You can find a full 2012 British Open Leaderboard at Golf.com.

For more on the Open, stick with SB Nation Tampa Bay's 2012 British Open StoryStreamand SB Nation's golf hub.

British Open 2012 Leaderboard Update: Tiger Woods In The Hunt

Tiger Woods has taken sole possession of the number two spot on the leaderboard at the 2012 British Open at Royal Lytham & St. Anne's golf course. Woods is currently sitting at seven-under par through 12 holes in Saturday's round three.

Woods still has some work ahead of him because the leader, Adam Scott is currently five strokes ahead at 12-under par through 11 holes so far.

Woods started off with a bogey on the first hole of the day on Saturday and followed that up with a bogey on hole three. but he's gotten things back under control as he's made birdies on the sixth, seventh and ninth holes and has made par on the remaining seven.

Woods is in good position going into Sunday and no lead is safe when he's on your heels.

You can find a full 2012 British Open Leaderboard at Golf.com.

For more on the Open, stick with SB Nation Tampa Bay's 2012 British Open StoryStreamand SB Nation's golf hub.

British Open Odds 2012: Tiger Woods, Adam Scott Favorites Despite Trailing

Although they trail heading into the weekend, oddsmakers are showing plenty of confidence in Tiger Woods and Adam Scott, as the two of them both are at 3 to 1 odds to win the 2012 British Open. Woods is currently in third place, four strokes behind the leader while Scott is in second place, one stroke back.

The current leader, Brandt Snedeker is currently at 9 to 2 odds to win.

Here is a complete listing of odds heading into the weekend from TheSpread.com.

Adam Scott 3/1

Tiger Woods 3/1

Brandt Snedeker 9/2

Graeme McDowell 12/1

Jason Dufner 16/1

Matt Kuchar 20/1

Luke Donald 25/1

Paul Lawrie 25/1

Ernie Els 33/1

Thorbjorn Olesen 33/1

Thomas Aiken 40/1

Steve Stricker 50/1

Zach Johnson 80/1

Louis Oosthuizen 100/1

Bubba Watson 125/1

Ian Poulter 125/1

Martin Laird 125/1

Rory McIlroy 125/1

Simon Dyson 125/1

Thomas Bjorn 125/1

Andres Romero 150/1

Carl Pettersson 150/1

Dustin Johnson 150/1

Francesco Molinari 150/1

Hunter Mahan 150/1

James Morrison 150/1

Kyle Stanley 150/1

Lee Westwood 150/1

Padraig Harrington 150/1

Peter Hanson 150/1

Ratief Goosen 150/1

Bill Haas 200/1

Geoff Ogilvy 200/1

Jamie Donaldson 200/1

Miguel Angel Jimenez 200/1

Nick Watney 200/1

Rafael Cabrera-Bello 200/1

Garth Mulroy 250/1

Greg Chalmers 250/1

John Senden 250/1

Nicolas Colsaerts 250/1

Steven Alker 250/1

Ted Potter 250/1

Thongchai Jaidee 250/1

Mark Calcavecchia 300/1

Simon Khan 300/1

Toshinori Muto 300/1

Troy Matteson 300/1

You can find a full 2012 British Open Leaderboard at Golf.com.

For more on the Open, stick with SB Nation Tampa Bay's 2012 British Open StoryStreamand SB Nation's golf hub.

2012 British Open: Tee Times And Pairings For Saturday

The third round of the 2012 British Open is set to begin in the early hours of Saturday, as Tiger Woods continues his chase of another major. Woods will begin his round with Thorbjorn Olesen at 10:10 a.m. ET. The leader of the tournament, Brandt Snedeker at 10-under, will begin his round at 10:20 a.m. ET with Adam Scott.

Another group of interest will be the 7:10 a.m. ET pairing, as 2012 Masters champion Bubba Watson will play with Ian Poulter. One notable name absent from the list of Saturday pairings is Phil Mickelson, who did not make the cut.

The full listings of pairings and tee times can be found HERE. TV coverage of Saturday's round will begin at 7 a.m. ET on ESPN.

You can find a full 2012 British Open Leaderboard at Golf.com.

For more on the Open, stick with SB Nation Tampa Bay's 2012 British Open StoryStreamand SB Nation's golf hub.

2012 British Open Leaderboard: Tiger Woods Shoots A Second Round 67, 4 Strokes Back Of The Lead

Tiger Woods has put himself right in the thick of the competition at the British Open on Friday. His second round 67 puts him at 6-under for the tournament. He is currently in third place behind Australian Adam Scott, who also shot 67 and is standing at 9-under.

The current leader at the British Open is American Brandt Snedeker, buoyed by a 6-under 64 in the second round. Snedeker had a stretch of seven holes where he hit five birdies. Five golfers are tied for fifth place at four-under including Jason Dufner and Paul Lawrie. Ernie Els rounds out the top 10 at 3-under for the tournament.

The current cut line is at 3-over, notable golfers that are either likely or in danger of missing the cut include Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia, Y.E. Yang, Justin Rose and Justin Leonard.

You can find a full 2012 British Open Leaderboard at Golf.com.

For more on the Open, stick with SB Nation Tampa Bay's 2012 British Open StoryStream and SB Nation's golf hub.

2012 British Open Leaderboard: Brandt Snedeker Earns Big Lead After Two Rounds

While many golfers are still playing in their second rounds at the British Open, it seems unlikely that any golfer will immediately make up the ground that Brandt Snedeker has put between himself and the rest of the field. His 66 was enough to put him in a tie for fourth on Thursday and a 64, tied for the best in the tournament so far, on Friday, has sent Snedeker to 10 strokes under par.

Among the golfers within striking distance is Tiger Woods who is in a tie for third at four under par after finishing with a birdie on the fourth hole for the second consecutive day.

One golfer who is not within striking distance of anyone, though, is Phil Mickelson. After finishing three strokes over par on Thursday, Mickelson managed to do much worse on Friday, finishing eight strokes over par. The 11 strokes over par was enough to earn him a tie for the 146th spot in the 156 player tournament.

You can find a full 2012 British Open Leaderboard at Golf.com.

For more on the Open, stick with SB Nation Tampa Bay's 2012 British Open StoryStreamand SB Nation's golf hub.

British Open 2012: TV Coverage, Tee Times, Streaming, Live Updates And More

Friday will bring another full day of golf during the second round of the 2012 British Open. There are nearly ten hours of tee times going off No. 1 at Royal Lytham & St. Annes. The first group will go off in the middle of the night in the States, with tee times beginning at 1:30 a.m. ET.

ESPN will once again provide comprehensive coverage, coming on the air at 4:30 a.m. ET and carrying live coverage until 3 p.m. ET. They will then have a highlights show for the afternoon crowd, lasting from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. ET. Lastly, they will carry a "Best Of" highlights package for the evening crowd from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET.

There are plenty of livestream options available. ESPN3 provide a stream that mirrors their television coverage, but they'll also have a stream dedicated to holes 9 through 11 and another stream dedicated to No. 1 and No.18. Another stream option will be provided by TheOpen.com via livestream.com, scheduled to come on the air at 5 a.m. ET.

The full list of tee times and groupings is below:

1:30 a.m.: Bob Estes, Steven O'Hara, Brendan Jones
1:41 a.m.: Juvic Pagunsan, Scott Pinckney, Nicholas Cullen
1:52 a.m.: Steven Alker, Lee Slattery, Michael Thompson
2:03 a.m.: Tom Lehman, Pablo Larrazabal, Greg Owen
2:14 a.m.: Marcel Siem, George Coetzee, Chez Reavie
2:25 a.m.: Marcus Fraser, Lucas Glover, Gregory Havret
2:36 a.m.: Charles Howell III, Paul Broadhurst, Richard Sterne
2:47 a.m.: Carl Pettersson, K.T. Kim, Gary Woodland
2:58 a.m.: Ben Curtis, Paul Casey, Trevor Immelman
3:09 a.m.: Richard Finch, Mark Wilson, Branden Grace
3:20 a.m.: Harris English, Simon Dyson, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano
3:31 a.m.: Angel Cabrera, K.J. Choi, Ross Fisher
3:42 a.m.: Jonathan Byrd, Sang-Moon Bae, Alvaro Quiros
3:58 a.m.: Nicolas Colsaerts, Hunter Mahan, John Senden
4:09 a.m.: Bo Van Pelt, Francesco Molinari, Toshinori Muto
4:20 a.m.: Rory McIlroy, Louis Oosthuizen, Keegan Bradley
4:31 a.m.: Rickie Fowler, Padraig Harrington, Manuel Trappel (amateur)
4:42 a.m.: Luke Donald, Phil Mickelson, Geoff Ogilvy
4:53 a.m.: Steve Stricker, Toru Taniguchi, Anders Hansen
5:04 a.m.: Peter Hanson, Retief Goosen, Robert Allenby
5:15 a.m.: Jim Furyk, Koumei Oda, Fredrik Jacobson
5:26 a.m.: Marc Leishman, Brandt Snedeker, Alexander Noren
5:37 a.m.: Andres Romero, Jbe Kruger, Richie Ramsay
5:48 a.m.: Ted Potter Jr., Ian Keenan, Andrew Georgiou
5:59 a.m.: Troy Kelly, Morten Orum Madsen, Anirban Lahiri
6:10 a.m.: Prayad Marksaeng, Justin Hicks, Ashley Hall
6:31 a.m.: Barry Lane, James Driscoll, Garth Mulroy
6:42 a.m.: Matthew Baldwin, Adilson Da Silva, Tadahiro Takayama
6:53 a.m.: Rafael Echenique, Kodai Ichihara, John Huh
7:04 a.m.: Sandy Lyle, Todd Hamilton, Mark Calcavecchia
7:15 a.m.: Alejandro Canizares, Jeev Milkha Singh, Greg Chalmers
7:26 a.m.: John Daly, Chad Campbell, Michael Hoey
7:37 a.m.: Thongchai Jaidee, Justin Leonard, Simon Khan
7:48 a.m.: David Duval, Raphael Jacquelin, Miguel Angel Jimenez
7:59 a.m.: Stephen Ames, Robert Rock, Kyle Stanley
8:10 a.m.: Stewart Cink, Rafael Cabrera-Bello, Johnson Wagner
8:21 a.m.: Jamie Donaldson, Bill Haas, Y.E. Yang
8:32 a.m.: Davis Love III, Tim Clark, Paul Lawrie
8:43 a.m.: Adam Scott, Alan Dunbar (amateur), Matt Kuchar
8:59 a.m.: Vijay Singh, Nick Watney, Ian Poulter
9:10 a.m.: Darren Clarke, Ernie Els, Zach Johnson
9:21 a.m.: Lee Westwood, Yoshinori Fujimoto, Bubba Watson
9:32 a.m.: Dustin Johnson, Graeme McDowell, Hiroyuki Fujita
9:43 a.m.: Tiger Woods, Justin Rose, Sergio Garcia
9:54 a.m.: Ryo Ishikawa, Martin Kaymer, Tom Watson
10:05 a.m.: Thomas Bjorn, Aaron Baddeley, Charl Schwartzel
10:16 a.m.: Jason Dufner, Martin Laird, Kevin Na
10:27 a.m.: James Morrison, Daniel Chopra, Joost Luiten
10:38 a.m.: Thorbjorn Olesen, Troy Matteson, Thomas Aiken
10:49 a.m.: Brad Kennedy, Mardan Mamat, Steven Tiley
11 a.m.: Warren Bennett, Aaron Townsend, Grant Veenstra
11:11 a.m.: Dale Whitnell, Sam Walker, Elliot Saltman

You can find a full 2012 British Open Leaderboard at Golf.com.

For more on the Open, stick with SB Nation Tampa Bay's 2012 British Open StoryStream and SB Nation's golf hub.

2012 British Open Leaderboard: Adam Scott Leads, Tiger Woods And Rory McIlroy In Contention

Adam Scott tied a course record at Royal Lytham & St Annes on Thursday, equaling the best ever British Open round at the course with a 64. He leads the field at 6-under par after day one, and there's a strong field chasing him, with some of golf's biggest names putting up low scores as well.

The weather has been discussed constantly in the build-up to the British Open, but wind and rain stayed away, allowing for low scores. Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy both had very solid days, finishing at 3-under par. They're joined at 3-under by Masters champion Bubba Watson and former U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell, among others.

Nicholas Colsaerts, former Masters winner Zach Johnson and Paul Lawrie are all just behind Scott at 5-under. Brandt Snedeker sits alone at 4-under par.

World No. 1 Luke Donald avoided disaster, but was still slightly disappointing and put up a score of even par. Lee Westwood, who enters the open with huge expectations every year, disappointed yet again on Thursday. He's 3-over par and will struggle to make the cut on Friday. Phil Mickelson also struggled and finished at 3-over.

You can find a full 2012 British Open Leaderboard at Golf.com.

For more on the Open, stick with SB Nation Tampa Bay's 2012 British Open StoryStream and SB Nation's golf hub.

British Open Leaderboard 2012: Tiger Woods, Zach Johnson Off To Strong Starts

Three-time British Open champion Tiger Woods hasn't lifted the Claret Jug since winning the tournament in 2006. His last win in a Major Championship was in the 2008 US Open and the pressure is on for the odds-on favorite to finally break his streak of poor performances in Majors.

He got out to a strong start early though, shooting straight to the top of the leaderboard with four birdies in the front nine on Thursday. He slowed some in the back nine, shooting one over par, but the strong front nine has left Woods in a tie for fifth on the leaderboard.

The sole American ahead of Woods on the leaderboard is Zach Johnson who shot five under par on Thursday. His strong performance earned him a tie with Paul Lawrie for the second spot, just one stroke behind tournament-leading Adam Scott of Australia.

Read more on the British Open at this StoryStream and check out our golf hub page as well.

British Open 2012: Pressure Is On Tiger Woods

With Tiger Woods being a three-time British Open Championship winner and the odds-on favorite to win the tournament this weekend, the pressure is without question riding on what many to believe to be the world's best player. Tiger Woods performing under pressure has been known to be one of the most compelling narratives in sports and it looks like that's what we're going to get starting Thursday at 4:42 a.m. ET.

SB Nation golf contributor Adam Fonseca had this to say about Tiger in mentioning the players to watch in the British Open:

Once again, Woods is the odds favorite to win a major in 2012, and once again opinions are torn as to how he will perform when the pressure is on. Woods' two previous major attempts this year have been forgettable; however, he did show some flashes of brilliance during the U.S. Open last month. If Royal Lytham remains forgiving and if Woods can keep his golf ball in play, don't be surprised if major number 15 is the end result come Sunday.

Read more on the British Open at this StoryStream and check out our golf hub page as well.

British Open 2012: Robert Karlsson Withdraws Because Of 'Bad Habits'

Last week, U.S. Open Champion Webb Simpson withdrew from the British Open. Now anther golfer is. Robert Karlsson of Sweden announced on Wednesday that he is pulling out of the Open Championships because he did not feel adequately prepared. He did not cite any injury issues, just concerns regarding perforance. He tweeting the followig earlier in the day:

Just pulled out of the British open. Have got into some bad habits in my game and routine that I need to address. taking a few weeks off.

— Robert Karlsson (@robertkarlsson) July 18, 2012

Because the field was already one over the limit of 156, he will not be replaced. Most recently, Karlsson shot a 2-over-par at Nordea Masters over four rounds over the weekend of June 9.

Stick with SB Nation Tampa Bay for 2012 British Open tee times, results, updates and more. For all things golf, head over to SB Nation's golf hub.

British Open 2012: Tiger Woods Can Reclaim No. 1 Ranking In The World This Week

For Tiger Woods, success is defined by major championships but his ascendance back up the World Rankings are certainly a part of the "process" towards winning majors on a consistent basis again. Woods is the only three-time winner on Tour this season, victories that have put him atop the FedEx Cup standings and also have him in position to reclaim the No. 1 ranking in the world before this season is over.

There's been a revolving door in the No. 1 spot since Woods tumbled out of that perch after his off-the-course scandal. A set of Europeans including Martin Kaymer, Lee Westwood and most recently Luke Donald and Rory McIlroy have all held the title of No. 1 in the world. But each week, that player is in peril of losing his position. The parity is great for diehard golf watchers, but not necessarily for the mainstream popularity of the game. Ron Sirak of GolfWorld addressed this issue, and regardless of the official title, Woods is likely already the best player in the world again:

This is a fascinating period as we wait for the next Tiger Woods to come along. And it could very well end up being that the next Tiger Woods is Tiger Woods. It wasn't that long ago we thought it would be McIlory, or Bubba Watson. Remember him?

If Tiger wins this week, giving him four wins and a major this year, he would once again be the best player in the world. In fact, he probably already is. Really, who else has stepped up to take the title from him?

Woods has a chance to become No. 1 in the world with a win at Lytham and Luke Donald finishing outside the top three. But that will only be a nice consolation on his continued chase of Jack Nickalaus majors record.

Stick with SB Nation Tampa Bay for 2012 British Open tee times, results, updates and more. For all things golf, head over to SB Nation's golf hub.

2012 British Open: Bubba Watson Planning A More Conservative Strategy

Bubba Watson of Bagdad, Florida was disappointed that in his first major tournament after winning The Masters back in April, he missed the cut. At this weekend's British Open at the Royal Lytham & St. Anne's Golf Club. Watson finished 30th in the tournament last year at Royal St. George's Golf Club. Watson hopes that a more conservative strategy could lead to him being in contention for the championship on Sunday.

My goal this week is to play smart from the tee. I will hit a lot of irons off the tees. That's not to say I won't hit my irons into trouble but if I can keep them in the fairways I will have a better chance of missing the bunkers and hazards around the greens.

Watson hopes that a strategy like this will limit the number of bad shots and high numbers on holes so that he will not be in danger of missing the cut as he did at the US Open. If Watson is able to limit the bad shots he will be a serious contender for the Claret Jug.

Stick with SB Nation Tampa Bay for 2012 British Open tee times, results, updates and more. For all things golf, head over to SB Nation's golf hub.

British Open 2012 Tee Times And Pairings: Tiger Woods Leads High Profile Group

The 2012 British Open gets underway on Thursday. One of the biggest tournaments in professional golf, there should be no shortage of stories to follow as the world's best golfers descend on the course at Royal Lytham. Tee times and pairings for the first two days of the tournament were announced on Monday afternoon.

Once again, organizers have grouped together some of golf's most high-profile names. Tiger Woods leads a group rounded out by Justin Rose and Sergio Garcia. Lee Westwood joins Masters champ Bubba Watson and Yoshinori Fujimoto. The rest of the list looks like this:

1:19 a.m. ET -- Barry Lane, James Driscoll
1:30 a.m. ET -- Richard Finch, Garth Mulroy
1:41 a.m. ET -- Matthew Baldwin, Adilson Da Silva, Tadahiro Takayama
1:52 a.m. ET -- Rafa Echenique, Kodai Ichihara, John Huh
2:03 a.m. ET -- Sandy Lyle, Todd Hamilton, Mark Calcavecchia
2:14 a.m. ET -- Alejandro Canizares, Jeev Milkha Singh, Greg Chalmers
2:25 a.m. ET -- John Daly, Chad Campbell, Michael Hoey
2:36 a.m. ET -- Thongchai Jaidee, Justin Leonard, Simon Khan
2:47 a.m. ET -- David Duval, Raphael Jacquelin, Miguel Angel Jimenez
2:58 a.m. ET -- Stephen Ames, Robert Rock, Kyle Stanley
3:09 a.m. ET -- Stewart Cink, Rafael Cabrera-Bello, Johnson Wagner
3:20 a.m. ET -- Jamie Donaldson, Bill Haas, Ye Yang
3:31 a.m. ET -- Davis Love III, Tim Clark, Paul Lawrie
3:42 a.m. ET -- Adam Scott, Alan Dunbar (A), Matt Kuchar
3:58 a.m. ET -- Vijay Singh, Nick Watney, Ian Poulter
4:09 a.m. ET -- Darren Clarke, Ernie Els, Zach Johnson
4:20 a.m. ET -- Lee Westwood, Yoshinori Fujimoto, Bubba Watson
4:31 a.m. ET -- Dustin Johnson, Graeme Mcdowell, Hiroyuki Fujita
4:42 a.m. ET -- Tiger Woods, Justin Rose, Sergio Garcia
4:53 a.m. ET -- Ryo Ishikawa, Martin Kaymer, Tom Watson
5:04 a.m. ET -- Thomas Bjorn, Aaron Baddeley, Charl Schwartzel
5:15 a.m. ET -- Jason Dufner, Martin Laird, Kevin Na
5:26 a.m. ET -- James Morrison, Daniel Chopra, Joost Luiten
5:37 a.m. ET -- Thorbjorn Olesen, Troy Matteson, Thomas Aiken
5:48 a.m. ET -- Brad Kennedy, Mardan Mamat, Steven Tiley
5:59 a.m. ET -- Warren Bennett, Aaron Townsend, Grant Veenstra
6:10 a.m. ET -- Dale Whitnell, Sam Walker, Elliot Saltman
6:31 a.m. ET -- Bob Estes, Steven O'Hara, Brendan Jones
6:42 a.m. ET -- Juvic Pagunsan, Scott Pinckney, Nicholas Cullen
6:53 a.m. ET -- Steven Alker, Lee Slattery, Russ Cochran
7:04 a.m. ET -- Tom Lehman, Pablo Larrazabal, Greg Owen
7:15 a.m. ET -- Marcel Siem, George Coetzee, Chez Reavie
7:26 a.m. ET -- Marcus Fraser, Lucas Glover, Gregory Havret
7:37 a.m. ET -- Charles Howell III, Paul Broadhurst, Richard Sterne
7:48 a.m. ET -- Carl Pettersson, K.T. Kim, Gary Woodland
7:59 a.m. ET -- Ben Curtis, Paul Casey, Trevor Immelman
8:10 a.m. ET -- Robert Karlsson, Mark Wilson, Branden Grace
8:21 a.m. ET -- Harris English, Simon Dyson, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano
8:32 a.m. ET -- Angel Cabrera, K.J. Choi, Ross Fisher
8:43 a.m. ET -- Jonathan Byrd, Sang-Moon Bae, Alvaro Quiros
8:59 a.m. ET -- Nicolas Colsaerts, Hunter Mahan, John Senden
9:10 a.m. ET -- Bo Van Pelt, Francesco Molinari, Toshinori Muto
9:21 a.m. ET -- Rory McIlroy, Louis Oosthuizen, Keegan Bradley
9:32 a.m. ET -- Rickie Fowler, Padraig Harrington, Manuel Trappel (A)
9:43 a.m. ET -- Luke Donald, Phil Mickelson, Geoff Ogilvy
9:54 a.m. ET -- Steve Stricker, Toru Taniguchi, Anders Hansen
10:05 a.m. ET -- Peter Hanson, Retief Goosen, Robert Allenby
10:16 a.m. ET -- Jim Furyk, Koumei Oda, Fredrik Jacobson
10:27 a.m. ET -- Marc Leishman, Brandt Snedeker, Alexander Noren
10:38 a.m. ET -- Andres Romero, Jbe Kruger, Richie Ramsay
10:49 a.m. ET -- Ted Potter Jr, Ian Keenan, Andrew Georgiou
11:00 a.m. ET -- Troy Kelly, Morten Orum Madsen, Anirban Lahiri
11:11 a.m. ET -- Prayad Marksaeng, Justin Hicks, Ashley Hall

Stick with SB Nation Tampa Bay for 2012 British Open tee times, results, updates and more. For all things golf, head over to SB Nation's golf hub.

British Open 2012 Odds: Tiger Woods Favored To Win

American golfing legend Tiger Woods has not won a major tournament in four years. Despite his recent struggles with relative anonymity, Woods remains a favorite of the oddsmakers. The British Open starts on Thursday, and Woods enters the tournament as a 13/2 favorite.

Right behind Woods on the list are Lee Westwood and Luke Donald at 12/1. Rory McIlroy has 16/1 odds to start the tournament.

The complete list of odds for the 2012 British Open:

Tiger Woods 13/2
Lee Westwood 12/1
Luke Donald 12/1
Padraig Harrington 16/1
Rory McIlroy 16/1
Justin Rose 25/1
Sergio Garcia 28/1
Dustin Johnson 33/1
Francesco Molinari 33/1
Graeme McDowell 33/1
Martin Kaymer 33/1
Phil Mickelson 33/1
Rickie Fowler 35/1
Adam Scott 40/1
Ernie Els 40/1
Hunter Mahan 40/1
Ian Poulter 40/1
Jason Dufner 40/1
Jim Furyk 40/1
Louis Oosthuizen 40/1
Matt Kuchar 40/1
Steve Stricker 40/1
Bubba Watson 50/1
Charl Schwartzel 50/1
Jason Day 50/1
Matteo Manassero 50/1
K.J. Choi 66/1
Nick Watney 66/1
Nicolas Colsaerts 66/1
Peter Hanson 66/1
Ross Fisher 66/1
Alexander Noren 80/1
Fredrik Jacobson 80/1
Henrik Stenson 80/1
Retief Goosen 80/1
Thomas Bjorn 80/1
Zach Johnson 80/1

For an updates list of odds, check out Oddsshark.

Stick with SB Nation Tampa Bay for 2012 British Open tee times, results, updates and more. For all things golf, head over to SB Nation's golf hub.

2012 British Open: Complete Schedule, TV Information And More

The 2012 British Open begins Thursday. Tiger Woods and a slate of other golfers with ties to Florida will make their bid for the Open Championship.