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Bunker chip-in on 18 puts Woods in third at British

(AP)

Tiger Woods (Getty Images)

Lytham St. Annes, England — It wasn’t exactly a shot heard ’round the world, but it was a resounding message and one that everyone around Royal Lytham took notice of as the Open Championship second round came to a close yesterday afternoon.

Tiger Woods had just holed out a greenside bunker shot for birdie on No. 18 to get to 6-under and the fans packing huge grandstands around the last hole exploded.

Leader Brandt Snedeker, who finished his round hours earlier at 10-under par, was likely not on the grounds when Woods made the shot, but he might have heard the roars from the house in town he’s staying at this week.

Yes, Snedeker leads the British Open because of the 6-under 64 he shot yesterday to tie the British Open 36-hole record of 130.

Yes, Adam Scott is close behind at 9-under after following his first-round 64 with a tidy 67 yesterday.

LEADERBOARD

But neither has won a major championship and Woods has the look of a guy who is building toward the 15th of his career with the way he is striking the ball and in control of his swing. Oh, by the way, if Woods wins this week and Luke Donald finishes tied for third or worse, he would be the world’s No. 1 player again.

Of course, he looked in supreme control for the first two rounds of the U.S. Open last month at Olympic Club and faded during the weekend, so you never know. Plus, after two rounds of uncharacteristically calm winds, the forecast is calling for heavy winds tomorrow.

“Overall I’m very pleased at where I’m at,’’ Woods said. “We’re at the halfway point and I’m right there in the mix. With the weather that’s forecasted on Sunday and tomorrow, it’s going to be a good weekend.’’

Woods, much the way he did when he won the last of his three British Open titles, at Hoylake in 2006, is methodically plotting his way around Lytham and looking in complete control. He hit two drivers in Thursday’s opening round and just one yesterday.

“I figured I had a game plan that I thought would fit well on this golf course, I figured I could execute it and I’ve done that so far,’’ Woods said.

His caddie, Joe LaCava, had an up-close look and he liked what he saw.

“I don’t want to say complete control of the his ball flight and where it’s going, but he’s close to being in that zone, working it both ways, making sure he lays up short of the junk and shaping his shots exactly the way he wants to,’’ LaCava told The Post after the round. “He’s probably a couple 20-footers from actually being close to the lead.

“He’s not going to make every 20-footer you look at, but I felt like as good as he’s hit it, that 67 [Thursday] could have been a 65.’’

Asked what he’s seeing in Woods’ swing and his game compared with the days when he used to dominate, LaCava said, “If he was a 10 back then I would say 7-to-8ish. Back in the day he was on auto pilot. He’s going in that direction now. He sees good signs coming and he’s excited about it … in his low-key manner.’’

After Snedeker, Scott and Woods on the leaderboard are some players to be reckoned with, including Graeme McDowell, Matt Kuchar and Jason Dufner at 4-under. Ernie Els, who’s in form and a multiple major winner, is 3-under and cannot be discounted.

“I think you look at the names that are five and six shots back [being at the top] means even less,’’ Scott said. “It’s a world-class leaderboard, stacked up a few shots back, and I think no matter what the conditions are [today] one of those guys is going to have a good day and make up ground.”

Woods called Snedeker’s 64 “very impressive considering where the pins were.’’

Asked if he was watching what Snedeker and Scott were doing and if their play will influence his game plan, Woods replied, “I just do what I do.’’

So far, so good.

mark.cannizzaro@nypost.com