The British Open: Is Tiger the one to beat?

By Jeff Frank Jul 19, 2006, 14:15 GMT

Philadelphia, PA - Tiger Woods wasn't even born the last time that the British Open was held at Hoylake in England. In fact, most of todays golfers weren't around back in 1967, when Roberto de Vicenzo won the event at the Royal Liverpool Golf Club.

So how will this relic of a course play out in todays game? They have lengthened it by a good 263 yards since 1967, for a total of 7,258 yards. The top three leaders on the world rankings list -- Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Vijay Singh -- are the top three choices, according to www.WSEX.com, and the course should play right into their hands.

1. Tiger Woods (4-1): Last years winner has won two of the last six British Opens, with his first victory coming back in 2000. In the years between, Woods has finished an average of six shots behind the leader. Tiger bounced back after missing the cut at this years U.S. Open to finish a strong second to Trevor Immelman at the Western Open.

ANALYSIS: Woods has three tour victories this year, the same amount as last season, and he once again will be a MAJOR factor in a MAJOR.

2. Phil Mickelson (10-1): Should have two major wins this year but fell apart at the U.S. Open with a double-bogey on the 18th, handing the win to Geoff Ogilvy. Mickelson has not played his best golf at the British, finishing no better than 59th in three of the last four years.

ANALYSIS: I made the mistake of discounting him in The Masters, so I won't count him out here, but I prefer others.

3. Vijay Singh (16-1): Singh has two top-five finishes at the British Open in the past three years. He was also all alone at the top after three rounds at the Western Open but shot a final round 73 and double-bogeyed the 18th, which prevented him from a tie for second place.

ANALYSIS: Vijay is always a factor and can easily win with a top effort.

4. Ernie Els (16-1): Els has not been playing his best golf in 06, winning only one time, and that came in his first tournament of the year. He ended up tied for 27th at The Masters and tied for 26th at the U.S. Open. The South African finished over par in two of his last three events.

ANALYSIS: The 02 winner finished 47th at The Masters. Last year, he tied for 15th at the U.S. Open and then tied for 34th at the British Open. This year will have similar results. Pass.

5. Padraig Harrington (16-1): After placing no higher than 11th in his first 11 tournaments this year, the Dublin native has stormed through his last six events, with two seconds, a sixth and a fifth in the U.S. Open.

ANALYSIS: Harrington is playing better golf in 06, as he has only missed one cut after missing six in 05. Will be a player in this years tourney.

6. Luke Donald (20-1): Donald missed the British Open cut in 03 and 04. Last year, he finished Thursdays play only two shots off the lead, but a 73 and a 77 in the middle two rounds were his downfall.

ANALYSIS: The 28-year-old seems up against it, with only two lifetime PGA Tour victories.

7. Retief Goosen (22-1): After four straight over-par finishes, including missing the cut at the U.S. Open, Goosen rebounded with a minus-7 at the Scottish Open but only tied for 14th.

ANALYSIS: In Retiefs last five British Opens, hes finished an average of only five shots behind the winner. At 22-1, Goosen is a live play to take it all.

8. Darren Clarke (30-1): The 37-year-old has finished under par at the last two British Opens, including a minus-5 last year. Clarke was only six shots off the lead heading into the final round. This season, he ended up third at the Irish Open and tied for fifth at the Scottish Open.

ANALYSIS: This North Ireland native has a decent shot at being right there come Sunday. Worth a shot at 30-1.

9. Colin Montgomerie (25-1): 'Monty' failed to make the cut in seven of his first 13 tournaments this year. However, the Scotsman has three top-four finishes in his last six events, including a second place at the U.S. Open.

ANALYSIS: Colin finished five strokes in second place behind Tiger in last years British, so he can definitely be a factor here. A good choice to end up in the top 10.

10. David Howell (28-1): Howell missed the cut in his last four British Opens. He also finished tied for 35th in his last tournament, the Scottish Open, and failed to make the cut in his previous event, the Open de France Alstom.

ANALYSIS: He'll be lucky just to even be playing on Saturday.

11. Jim Furyk (30-1): Furyk has five top-three finishes this year, including a tie for second at the U.S. Open. He followed that up with a fourth-place finish in his last event, the Western Open.

ANALYSIS: The Pennsylvania native has not been close at all in the past three years at the British, missing the cut in all of them. Make it four in a row for Furyk.

12. Sergio Garcia (30-1): Garcia had seven top-three finishes last year. This season, he has only one in 14 events. The 26-year-old finished 46th at The Masters and missed the cut at the U.S. Open.

ANALYSIS: Last year was Garcias best shot, and he still finished seven strokes behind Woods. This year, he won't even crack the top 15.

13. Thomas Bjorn (30-1): The native of Denmark has never won the British Open but has come close, losing by a stroke in 03 and two shots in 02. Bjorn has missed the cut in the last two years. This season, he won the Irish Open, and most recently, was tied atop the leader board after three rounds of the Scottish Open but shot a final round 72 to finish three shots back.

ANALYSIS: Has as good a shot as any.

14. Adam Scott (33-1): Scott has four top-three finishes this year, including two seconds in the Nissan Open and Barclays Classic. However, he finished tied for 21st in his last two events, the U.S. and Western Opens. His last three British Opens were ties for 34th, 42nd and a missed cut back in 03.

ANALYSIS: Not this year.

15. Paul Casey (40-1): Casey has finished under par in 14-of-16 matches this year, all on the European Tour. He won both the Volvo China Open and the Johnnie Walker Championship. Casey beat out Darren Clarke by one stroke to finish second at the Irish Open, one shot behind Bjorn.

ANALYSIS: Unfortunately for Casey, hes missed the cut in three of his four British Opens since turning pro in 01.

16. Trevor Immelman (40-1): Immelman moved up to fifth place on the money list with his victory two weeks ago at the Western Open, his first win on U.S. soil. He came close twice before, finishing second at the Wachovia and the Byron Nelson Championships earlier this year.

ANALYSIS: Two years ago at the British Open, Immelman was three shots behind after the first round. Last year, he trailed Tiger by only two strokes after Thursdays play and was one shot behind 'Monty' for second place heading into Saturdays action. Immelmans a great pick at high odds.

The top six finishers in the 2006 British Open:

1. Tiger Woods

2. Vijay Singh

3. Retief Goosen

4. Thomas Bjorn

5. Phil Mickelson

6. Trevor Immelman

© 2006 The Sports Network