The Open 2012: Tiger Woods shows his perfectionist streak in a rush to make his mark at Royal Lytham Refreshingly, this was Woods in his most ruthless major mode, starting like a train and drawing upon every ounce of guile to sustain his inexorable momentum. It was a steely, remorseless performance, epitomised by his recovery from a solitary dropped shot at the 15th with three clinical pars on the course's daunting closing stretch. The great comeback, hatched in three tour victories already this season, appears ready to be consummated by a first major title for over four years. We should remember, despite this ominous first-round 67, that Woods is still assembling the elements of a swing painstakingly remodelled under coach Sean Foley. He began with similar laser-like accuracy at last month's US Open, only to implode at the weekend. But here, in the day's marquee threeball with Sergio García and Justin Rose, he radiated composure, determined not to let any frustration or outside influence to disrupt his force-field. The Royal & Ancient Golf Club clearly see value in an Open coupling of Woods and Rose - this was the fourth time they had been grouped together in the opening round - and the pairing suited the three-time champion as he easily eclipsed his English rival. "I hit the ball well all day," Woods reflected. I felt like I had pretty good control. I was shaping the ball both ways - sometimes I rode the wind, sometimes I held it against it. I had certain sections I wanted to put the ball in, and I managed that. I'm very pleased with what I did. As he ought to have been, since Woods swept through Lytham's outward half in a mere 30 strokes, just two off the Championship record. This was a level of form to suggest that he was not simply poised to seize his 15th major, but that he could return to world No 1 this weekend after period of strife and struggle during which he had fallen as low as 57th. In his natty ensemble of cream sweater and black slacks he produced some immaculate play, draining a 14-footer for birdie at the first, holing out from distance again at the fourth and sixth, before chipping the ball dead at the next. Suddenly, albeit, briefly, Woods led the Open by two. Sound familiar? In scenes redolent of St Andrews in 2000, and Hoylake in 2006, he looked primed to lap the field. Instead, the surge came to a stop as Woods protected his advantage. On a benign a day as this portion of the Fylde coast could throw up, he strode on to the 12th green still at four under, and allowed himself a first glance at the leaderboard. Such formidable adversaries as Adam Scott, Zach Johnson and Graeme McDowell were all present and correct and what followed, perhaps coincidentally, was his worst putt of the round as he leaked the ball left. The one lapse that cost him came at the 15th, where he pulled his iron into deep vegetation and discovered the ball had settled at the bottom of 18-inch grass trampled by 10,000 footsteps. He moved a television cable out of his way, trying to force a wedge shot over a pot bunker that he could not even see, but could only feather it into a nearby hillock. Was this the sign that Lytham was, as he had feared, unplayable? Not a bit of it, as Woods carved his next escape effort on to the green, hitting a perfectly-judged lag putt to escape with a bogey. Brilliance and damage limitation: it could yet prove a potent combination.