This article is part of our Major Power Rankings series.
1. Tiger Woods - Yes, Woods is coming off an elbow injury and hasn't played competitively since the U.S. Open, but one would be hard-pressed to dismiss the man who has won four times this season and raised the Claret Jug thrice in his career.
2. Phil Mickelson - Open Championship record isn't necessarily jaw-dropping, but finished T2 in 2011 and is coming off a victory at last week's Scottish Open.
3. Adam Scott - It was painful watching the slow implosion as he let the Open Championship slip away last year, but with recent Master's triumph is as likely as anyone to kiss the Claret Jug by week's end.
4. Lee Westwood - Now 40, still in search of first major title, but with so many close calls in recent years he's more than overdue, and to do so in his home country would make it well worth the wait.
5. Graeme McDowell - Gritty golfer found himself alongside Adam Scott in the final group at last year's Open Championship before a Sunday struggle, but is no stranger to major championship pressure, and has one win already this season.
6. Rory McIlroy - Has seen his share of struggles in 2013 but a player of his caliber is more than capable of turning around his game quickly especially at the bigger events.
7. Ernie Els - Returning champion from both last year and 2002 (the last time it was at Muirfield) and clear favorite coming off a T4 at
2. Phil Mickelson - Open Championship record isn't necessarily jaw-dropping, but finished T2 in 2011 and is coming off a victory at last week's Scottish Open.
3. Adam Scott - It was painful watching the slow implosion as he let the Open Championship slip away last year, but with recent Master's triumph is as likely as anyone to kiss the Claret Jug by week's end.
4. Lee Westwood - Now 40, still in search of first major title, but with so many close calls in recent years he's more than overdue, and to do so in his home country would make it well worth the wait.
5. Graeme McDowell - Gritty golfer found himself alongside Adam Scott in the final group at last year's Open Championship before a Sunday struggle, but is no stranger to major championship pressure, and has one win already this season.
6. Rory McIlroy - Has seen his share of struggles in 2013 but a player of his caliber is more than capable of turning around his game quickly especially at the bigger events.
7. Ernie Els - Returning champion from both last year and 2002 (the last time it was at Muirfield) and clear favorite coming off a T4 at
1. Tiger Woods - Yes, Woods is coming off an elbow injury and hasn't played competitively since the U.S. Open, but one would be hard-pressed to dismiss the man who has won four times this season and raised the Claret Jug thrice in his career.
2. Phil Mickelson - Open Championship record isn't necessarily jaw-dropping, but finished T2 in 2011 and is coming off a victory at last week's Scottish Open.
3. Adam Scott - It was painful watching the slow implosion as he let the Open Championship slip away last year, but with recent Master's triumph is as likely as anyone to kiss the Claret Jug by week's end.
4. Lee Westwood - Now 40, still in search of first major title, but with so many close calls in recent years he's more than overdue, and to do so in his home country would make it well worth the wait.
5. Graeme McDowell - Gritty golfer found himself alongside Adam Scott in the final group at last year's Open Championship before a Sunday struggle, but is no stranger to major championship pressure, and has one win already this season.
6. Rory McIlroy - Has seen his share of struggles in 2013 but a player of his caliber is more than capable of turning around his game quickly especially at the bigger events.
7. Ernie Els - Returning champion from both last year and 2002 (the last time it was at Muirfield) and clear favorite coming off a T4 at last month's U.S. Open.
8. Justin Rose - After breakthrough major victory at the U.S. Open last month, now looks to add himself to the multiple major contingency with plenty of momentum.
9. Luke Donald - Definitely in the conversation of top players never to win a major, but with three top-11 finishes in last four Open Championships, he would like nothing more than to permanently remove himself from that association.
10. Jason Day - A budding superstar on the verge of opening the major floodgates, but has yet to finish inside the top 30 in two tries at the Open Championship; that is bound to change as soon as this week.
11. Dustin Johnson - Very quiet this year after winning the season's first tournament, but has the length and ballstriking ability to excel on the difficult but fair Muirfield.
12. Sergio Garcia - Seven top-10s at the Open Championship since 2001 with his closest call a runner-up effort in 2007 at Carnoustie; has the game to contend but has yet to close the deal in a major.
13. Brandt Snedeker - Scott, Rose were 32 when they won their first majors this year. Snedeker is 32 and tied the 36-hole record at the Open Championship last year. Could the stars align to produce yet another 32-year-old first-time major champ?
14. Charl Schwartzel
15. Louis Oosthuizen - Champion of 2010 Open Championship at St. Andrews also was top-20 at Royal Lytham & St. Annes last year.
16. Henrik Stenson - Third-round leader at last week's Scottish Open and is enjoying a solid season in 2013. Could be a threat at the Open Championship with his recent excellent driving.
17. Nicolas Colsaerts - Belgian Bomber has shown a propensity to contend in majors the last few years; easily has the length to hit plenty of irons off the tee on firm and fast Muirfield.
18. Matt Kuchar - Two made cuts in seven Open Championship appearances but finished top-10 last year so is showing signs of improvement on links-style courses.
19. Keegan Bradley
20. Hunter Mahan - A member of the final group at the U.S. Open last month, clearly in good form, but just one top 10 in his career at the Open Championship.
21. Jason Dufner
22. Webb Simpson
23. Rickie Fowler
24. Ian Poulter
25. Matteo Manassero - BMW PGA Championship champion is having a solid season on the European Tour. Best finish at the Open Championship is T13 in 2009 as a 16-year-old.
26. Martin Laird
27. Nick Watney
28. Jim Furyk
29. Bill Haas
30. Padraig Harrington
31. Zach Johnson - Last year won the John Deere Classic and then the following week was T9 at the Open Championship. Now coming off a runner-up effort at the John Deere last week, Johnson looks again primed to play well at the season's third major.
32. Martin Kaymer
33. Richard Sterne
34. Angel Cabrera
35. Branden Grace
36. Bubba Watson
37. Thomas Bjorn
38. Peter Hanson
39. Billy Horschel - Notched seven top-10s this year as a rookie including T4 at his first major appearance at the U.S. Open this year. A bit of a wild card at the Open Championship, but no question he's in great form.
40. Geoff Ogilvy
41. Bo Van Pelt
42. K.J. Choi
43. Alexander Noren
44. Francesco Molinari
45. George Coetzee
46. Thorbjorn Oleson - 23-year-old Dane finished inside the top-10 at last year's Open Championship and posted an impressive T6 at the Masters this year. A budding talent who tends to play his best in the biggest events.
47. Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano
48. Miguel Angel Jimenez
49. Russell Henley
50. Chris Wood - Back-to-back top-5 finishes at the 2008, 2009 Open Championships; won earlier this season the European Tour.
51. Stewart Cink
52. Ryan Moore
53. Boo Weekley
54. Kevin Streelman
55. Tim Clark
56. Scott Stallings
57. Jamie Donaldson
58. Paul Lawrie
59. Scott Piercy
60. John Senden
61. Robert Garrigus
62. Bernd Wiesberger
63. Lucas Glover
64. Carl Pettersson
65. Jonas Blixt - Recent champion at The Greenbrier Classic earned his way in and is in great form.
66. John Huh
67. Jordan Spieth - Won 3-man playoff at the John Deere last week to earn his place at the Open Championship.
68. D.A. Points
69. Y.E. Yang
70. Marc Leishman
71. Freddie Jacobson
72. Darren Clarke - The 2011 Open Championship victor has struggled mightily since raising the Claret Jug.
73. Marcus Fraser
74. Thomas Aiken
75. Hiroyuki Fujita
76. Thongchai Jaidee
77. Ken Duke - Recent Traveler's Championship champion who broke through for his first win at age 44 in late June.
78. Luke Guthrie
79. Russell Henley
80. Bud Cauley
81. Michael Thompson
82. Robert Karlsson
83. Graham Delaet
84. Hideki Matsuyama
85. Josh Teater
86. Marcel Siem
87. Todd Hamilton
88. Jimmy Walker
89. Brian Davis
90. Kiradech Aphibarnrat
91. Gregory Bourdy
92. Scott Brown
93. Mark Brown
94. Rafael Cabrera-Bello
95. Shane Lowry
96. Fred Couples
97. Oliver Fisher
98. Ben Curtis
99. Stephen Dartnall
100. Eduardo De La Riva
101. David Duval
102. Harris English
103. Niclas Fasth
104. Matthew Fitzpatrick (a)
105. Oscar Floren
106. Stephen Gallacher
107. Tano Goya
108. Justin Harding
109. Tyrrell Hatton
110. Mikko Ilonen
111. Makoto Inoue
112. Scott Jamieson
113. Vijay Singh
114. Steven Jeffress
115. Mark Calcavecchia
116. Justin Leonard
117. Brendan Jones
118. Shiv Kapur
119. Shingo Katayama
120. Johnson Wagner
121. KT Kim
122. Thaworn Wiratchant
123. Kyle Stanley
124. Alvaro Quiros
125. Hyung-Sung Kim
126. Satoshi Kodaira
127. Richard Mcevoy
128. Grant Forrest (a)
129. Brooks Koepka
130. Kenichi Kuboya
131. Tom Lehman
132. Darryn Lloyd
133. Peter Senior
134. Sandy Lyle
135. David Lynn
136. Daisuke Maruyama
137. Camilo Villegas
138. Sir Nick Faldo
139. Gareth Maybin
140. George Murray
141. Mark O'Meara
142. Tom Watson
143. Richie Ramsay
144. Brett Rumford
145. Jimmy Mullen (a)
146. Danny Willett
147. Lloyd Saltman
148. Ben Stow (a)
149. Steven Tiley
150. Steven Fox (a)
151. John Wade
152. Toru Taniguchi
153. Marc Warren
154. Ashun Wu
155. Garrick Porteous (a)
156. Gareth Wright
157. Rhys Pugh (a)
2. Phil Mickelson - Open Championship record isn't necessarily jaw-dropping, but finished T2 in 2011 and is coming off a victory at last week's Scottish Open.
3. Adam Scott - It was painful watching the slow implosion as he let the Open Championship slip away last year, but with recent Master's triumph is as likely as anyone to kiss the Claret Jug by week's end.
4. Lee Westwood - Now 40, still in search of first major title, but with so many close calls in recent years he's more than overdue, and to do so in his home country would make it well worth the wait.
5. Graeme McDowell - Gritty golfer found himself alongside Adam Scott in the final group at last year's Open Championship before a Sunday struggle, but is no stranger to major championship pressure, and has one win already this season.
6. Rory McIlroy - Has seen his share of struggles in 2013 but a player of his caliber is more than capable of turning around his game quickly especially at the bigger events.
7. Ernie Els - Returning champion from both last year and 2002 (the last time it was at Muirfield) and clear favorite coming off a T4 at last month's U.S. Open.
8. Justin Rose - After breakthrough major victory at the U.S. Open last month, now looks to add himself to the multiple major contingency with plenty of momentum.
9. Luke Donald - Definitely in the conversation of top players never to win a major, but with three top-11 finishes in last four Open Championships, he would like nothing more than to permanently remove himself from that association.
10. Jason Day - A budding superstar on the verge of opening the major floodgates, but has yet to finish inside the top 30 in two tries at the Open Championship; that is bound to change as soon as this week.
11. Dustin Johnson - Very quiet this year after winning the season's first tournament, but has the length and ballstriking ability to excel on the difficult but fair Muirfield.
12. Sergio Garcia - Seven top-10s at the Open Championship since 2001 with his closest call a runner-up effort in 2007 at Carnoustie; has the game to contend but has yet to close the deal in a major.
13. Brandt Snedeker - Scott, Rose were 32 when they won their first majors this year. Snedeker is 32 and tied the 36-hole record at the Open Championship last year. Could the stars align to produce yet another 32-year-old first-time major champ?
14. Charl Schwartzel
15. Louis Oosthuizen - Champion of 2010 Open Championship at St. Andrews also was top-20 at Royal Lytham & St. Annes last year.
16. Henrik Stenson - Third-round leader at last week's Scottish Open and is enjoying a solid season in 2013. Could be a threat at the Open Championship with his recent excellent driving.
17. Nicolas Colsaerts - Belgian Bomber has shown a propensity to contend in majors the last few years; easily has the length to hit plenty of irons off the tee on firm and fast Muirfield.
18. Matt Kuchar - Two made cuts in seven Open Championship appearances but finished top-10 last year so is showing signs of improvement on links-style courses.
19. Keegan Bradley
20. Hunter Mahan - A member of the final group at the U.S. Open last month, clearly in good form, but just one top 10 in his career at the Open Championship.
21. Jason Dufner
22. Webb Simpson
23. Rickie Fowler
24. Ian Poulter
25. Matteo Manassero - BMW PGA Championship champion is having a solid season on the European Tour. Best finish at the Open Championship is T13 in 2009 as a 16-year-old.
26. Martin Laird
27. Nick Watney
28. Jim Furyk
29. Bill Haas
30. Padraig Harrington
31. Zach Johnson - Last year won the John Deere Classic and then the following week was T9 at the Open Championship. Now coming off a runner-up effort at the John Deere last week, Johnson looks again primed to play well at the season's third major.
32. Martin Kaymer
33. Richard Sterne
34. Angel Cabrera
35. Branden Grace
36. Bubba Watson
37. Thomas Bjorn
38. Peter Hanson
39. Billy Horschel - Notched seven top-10s this year as a rookie including T4 at his first major appearance at the U.S. Open this year. A bit of a wild card at the Open Championship, but no question he's in great form.
40. Geoff Ogilvy
41. Bo Van Pelt
42. K.J. Choi
43. Alexander Noren
44. Francesco Molinari
45. George Coetzee
46. Thorbjorn Oleson - 23-year-old Dane finished inside the top-10 at last year's Open Championship and posted an impressive T6 at the Masters this year. A budding talent who tends to play his best in the biggest events.
47. Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano
48. Miguel Angel Jimenez
49. Russell Henley
50. Chris Wood - Back-to-back top-5 finishes at the 2008, 2009 Open Championships; won earlier this season the European Tour.
51. Stewart Cink
52. Ryan Moore
53. Boo Weekley
54. Kevin Streelman
55. Tim Clark
56. Scott Stallings
57. Jamie Donaldson
58. Paul Lawrie
59. Scott Piercy
60. John Senden
61. Robert Garrigus
62. Bernd Wiesberger
63. Lucas Glover
64. Carl Pettersson
65. Jonas Blixt - Recent champion at The Greenbrier Classic earned his way in and is in great form.
66. John Huh
67. Jordan Spieth - Won 3-man playoff at the John Deere last week to earn his place at the Open Championship.
68. D.A. Points
69. Y.E. Yang
70. Marc Leishman
71. Freddie Jacobson
72. Darren Clarke - The 2011 Open Championship victor has struggled mightily since raising the Claret Jug.
73. Marcus Fraser
74. Thomas Aiken
75. Hiroyuki Fujita
76. Thongchai Jaidee
77. Ken Duke - Recent Traveler's Championship champion who broke through for his first win at age 44 in late June.
78. Luke Guthrie
79. Russell Henley
80. Bud Cauley
81. Michael Thompson
82. Robert Karlsson
83. Graham Delaet
84. Hideki Matsuyama
85. Josh Teater
86. Marcel Siem
87. Todd Hamilton
88. Jimmy Walker
89. Brian Davis
90. Kiradech Aphibarnrat
91. Gregory Bourdy
92. Scott Brown
93. Mark Brown
94. Rafael Cabrera-Bello
95. Shane Lowry
96. Fred Couples
97. Oliver Fisher
98. Ben Curtis
99. Stephen Dartnall
100. Eduardo De La Riva
101. David Duval
102. Harris English
103. Niclas Fasth
104. Matthew Fitzpatrick (a)
105. Oscar Floren
106. Stephen Gallacher
107. Tano Goya
108. Justin Harding
109. Tyrrell Hatton
110. Mikko Ilonen
111. Makoto Inoue
112. Scott Jamieson
113. Vijay Singh
114. Steven Jeffress
115. Mark Calcavecchia
116. Justin Leonard
117. Brendan Jones
118. Shiv Kapur
119. Shingo Katayama
120. Johnson Wagner
121. KT Kim
122. Thaworn Wiratchant
123. Kyle Stanley
124. Alvaro Quiros
125. Hyung-Sung Kim
126. Satoshi Kodaira
127. Richard Mcevoy
128. Grant Forrest (a)
129. Brooks Koepka
130. Kenichi Kuboya
131. Tom Lehman
132. Darryn Lloyd
133. Peter Senior
134. Sandy Lyle
135. David Lynn
136. Daisuke Maruyama
137. Camilo Villegas
138. Sir Nick Faldo
139. Gareth Maybin
140. George Murray
141. Mark O'Meara
142. Tom Watson
143. Richie Ramsay
144. Brett Rumford
145. Jimmy Mullen (a)
146. Danny Willett
147. Lloyd Saltman
148. Ben Stow (a)
149. Steven Tiley
150. Steven Fox (a)
151. John Wade
152. Toru Taniguchi
153. Marc Warren
154. Ashun Wu
155. Garrick Porteous (a)
156. Gareth Wright
157. Rhys Pugh (a)
