Major Power Rankings: British Open

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Updated on July 17, 2018 12:08PM EST

Below are our 2018 British Open rankings. This list is geared toward winner-take-all leagues and leagues that reward the lowest aggregate score, but it can serve other leagues as well, no matter the nuances. Check the comments section for golfers who are scratched.

FAVORITES

1. Dustin Johnson
After being stuck on no majors for a long time, Johnson has now been stuck on one for more than two years (2016 U.S. Open). But he's playing well lately, and he has a sneaky good track record at the British. Johnson was a co-runner-up to Darren Clarke in 2011, with two more top-10s and two more top-15s.

2. Rory McIlroy
McIlroy certainly is not at the top of his game, especially on the greens, but he does thrive in the Open. Since winning in 2014, the Northern Irishman has top-fives the past two years, plus another back in 2010. On the other hand, his tie for 28th at the Irish Open two weeks ago did little to inspire.

3. Tommy Fleetwood
Fleetwood arrived at his backyard last year – he grew up around the corner from Royal Birkdale – and promptly fell flat on his face with an opening 6-over 76. He recovered to not only make the cut but tie for 27th. Fleetwood is among the best in the world tee to green and, as long as he handles the pressure and expectations, he should be in the mix come Sunday. He has the confidence-builder in knowing that he holds the

FAVORITES

4. Brooks Koepka
The two-time defending U.S. Open champion cut his chops on the Euro Tour, winning the 2014 Turkish Open. Koepka has cashed top-10 in his past two trips to the British, including a tie for sixth last year.

5. Rickie Fowler
Fowler has a couple of top-5s at the British, including runner-up at Royal Liverpool in 2014. We've arrived at every major in the past five years saying Fowler has a chance to win, but of course it hasn't happened yet. It will, and probably sooner than later. Fowler is coming off a tie for sixth last week at the Scottish Open.

6. Patrick Reed
After never securing even so much as a top-10 in a major, Reed has finished top-5 in his past three, including his win at the Masters in April. Prior to this run, his best previous finish at a major was T12 at the 2016 British. Reed holds dual membership on the PGA and European Tours, plays a good deal around the world and actually leads in the Race to Dubai standings.

7. Justin Rose
Rose has a boatload of top-10s in majors, including a win at the 2013 U.S. Open, but he has only one at the British, a tie for sixth in 2015. On the other hand, the Englishman has five other top-25s, and arrives playing some of the best golf of his career.

8. Jordan Spieth
The defending champion arrives in perhaps the biggest funk of his young career, as it now a full year since his last victory – the 2017 Open at Royal Birkdale. But putting has been the most troublesome aspect of his game, and that can be negotiated at Carnoustie. Spieth also tied for fourth at the Old Course in 2015.

9. Justin Thomas
We may regret putting Thomas so low, but the British has been his worst major. He missed the cut last year and tied for 53rd the year before. But Thomas went to Europe a couple of weeks back to play the French Open, mostly because Le Golf National is site of the upcoming Ryder Cup, but the brief taste of Europe trip should also serve him well this week, as well. He tied for eighth in the event.

10. Henrik Stenson
This is a tough one, because Stenson withdrew from the Scottish Open with an elbow injury. He said at the time he was "hoping to be fit for Carnoustie." In a perfect world, we'd have Stenson in the top-5. He has a terrific history in this major. Of course, he won in 2016, and even acquitted himself nicely as defending champion with a T11 last year. Stenson also has a runner-up and two T3s through the years. This year, he's already finished fifth at the Masters and sixth at the U.S. Open. Simply, he's one of the best ball strikers in the world.

CONTENDERS

11. Marc Leishman
Leishman has played the British better than any non-winner the past four years, with three top-6 finishes, including a playoff loss to Zach Johnson at St. Andrews in 2015. The Aussie tied for sixth last year, then followed that up with a T13 at the PGA and a solo ninth at the Masters in April.

12. Alex Noren
The 35-year-old Swede has been a late bloomer – he's played in only seven British Opens – but he's certainly among the top-15 or so in the world the past few years. Noren had his best showing ever in a Major with a tie for sixth last year at Royal Troon, and is coming off a big win last month at the French Open.

13. Jon Rahm
The Spaniard is No. 5 in the world. He's also still only 23 years old. So while he doesn't have a great track record in majors, he also hasn't played in many of them. His T4 at the Masters was by far his best result in now eight majors. Rahm has gone T44-T59 in two trips to the British.

14. Sergio Garcia
It's been 11 years since Garcia had the title in his sights on the 18th green on Sunday at Carnoustie. But he missed an 8-footer, and then lost a playoff with Padraig Harrington. That was one of a whopping 10 top-10s the Spaniard has amassed in the British going back to his 1996 debut – 1996! Garcia was an uncharacteristic T37 last year, breaking a run of three straight top-6s, including another runner-up in 2014 at Royal Liverpool.

15. Zach Johnson
Johnson's game has been far from its apex the past few years, and in fact his last win was the 2015 British. But he has cashed top-15 in the two subsequent Opens. Johnson hasn't missed a British cut since 2006; he tied for 20th at Carnoustie in 2007. He's even coming off a tie for 12th at last month's U.S. Open, so it's evident he can continue to deliver in big events.

16. Jason Day
Day does have one top-5 at the British, at the Old Course in 2015, but this clearly has been his least favorite major. And with all the issues Day has had with his iron play this year, this does not set up as an optimum week for the world No. 9.

17. Hideki Matsuyama
Matsuyama has seen his world ranking plummet this year, partly because of injury. But since he's come back, he's had some decent finishes, including top-20s in both majors and the Memorial. In fact, he's finished top-20 in his past seven majors, including a T14 last year at Royal Birkdale. So while Matsuyama is not included in the top-5 conversation these days, he's surely capable of making some noise this week.

18. Tiger Woods
Woods is the toughest guy to slot. We still don't know exactly who we're dealing with. For the record, he's played both of the "recent" Opens at Carnoustie, tying for 12th in 2007 and seventh at the Jean van de Velde Invitational in 1999. The fairways are narrow this week, which doesn't help Woods, but at least he won't have to hit many drivers. And putting tends to be second to tee-to-green play at the Open, so there's a chance for some Tiger Magic.

19. Francesco Molinari
Molinari has been the hottest golfer going, with recent wins and second-place finishes on both the European and PGA Tours. His British history has been underwhelming, with one top-10 back in 2013 and two more top-15s. Molinari hasn't managed so much as a top-35 in his past three visits. But someone with his tee-to-green expertise, on display around the world for the past few months, should do better.

20. Paul Casey
Casey has only two top-10s at the British, and none since 2010, but he did post a T11 last year. He's clearly on form. Since his win at the Valspar, Casey has run off six top-20s in seven events, including both majors and a runner-up at the Travelers, which interestingly has been his last worldwide start.

21. Phil Mickelson
Like Woods, another head-scratcher. Mickelson has continued to play pretty well since his big win at the WGC-Mexico in the spring. But he missed the cut last year at the Open, he missed at both of his Carnoustie plays in 1999 and 2007, and he even missed the cut last week at the Scottish Open. And with disaster lurking at every corner of Carnoustie, you might need a strong stomach to roster Mickelson this week.

22. Branden Grace
The South African has had a decent-but-not-great first half of 2018, with four top-10s, most recently at the BMW PGA. While he's never missed a cut at the British, Grace hadn't had a high finish until last year's tie for sixth.

23. Ian Poulter
Poulter famously has never won a major, but he does have three top-10s at the British through the years, plus a T14 last year. And the veteran Englishman is playing some great golf, with a win at Houston, as his career has found a renaissance. Poulter has six top-25s in his eight starts since that win, including at the U.S. Open.

24. Xander Schauffele
Schauffele has played all of five majors, and he has two top-10s (both at the U.S. Open) and also a tie for 20th last year Royal Birkdale. And of course he won the Tour Championship last year and was runner-up at The Players in May, so contending in big events has not been an issue despite being only 24.

25. Tyrrell Hatton
Hatton had endured a terrible months-long stretch – until recently. He tied for sixth at the U.S. Open, then for 16th at the French Open and for ninth last week in Scotland. He's fallen from No. 16 in the OWGR, but he's still No. 23. Hatton has missed the cut in three of his four British Opens, but he did tie for fifth two years ago, when Henrik Stenson outdueled Phil Mickelson at Royal Troon.

IN THE HUNT

26. Bubba Watson
Bubba surely likes the courses he likes, and he doesn't strike us as a European type of guy. Watson has barely made a dent in any major outside of Augusta, with only two other top-10s. At the British, he's had only one top-25 through the years. But we sense a new Watson this year, one who will take this week more seriously and be more dedicated.

27. Rafa Cabrera-Bello
The Spaniard plays regularly on the PGA Tour and has been hovering around No. 20-25 in the world, but most of world-rankings points come in European Tour events. He's finished top-10 recently at the BMW PGA and the Italian Open, and he tied for fourth last year at the British. The Spaniard has also trunk-slammed in his last three events, all on European soil, at the French, Irish and Scottish Open.

28. Thorbjorn Olesen
The Dane has not come close to matching his T9 at the British back in 2009, but he is playing a hot hand coming in. Olesen won the Italian Open over Francesco Molinari last month, then three weeks later tied for second at the BMW International. And then Olesen tied for sixth at the Irish Open two weeks ago. The Italian was his fifth career European Tour win.

29. Matthew Fitzpatrick
It seems we've been waiting a while for the Englishman to make a dent on the world stage, but we need to be mindful that he's still only 23. Fitzpatrick just had one of his best finishes ever in a major, a tie for 12th at the U.S. Open. He's done no better than T44 in three trips to the British, but we are encouraged by his strong spring, which also includes a T8 at the BMW PGA and a T14 last week in Scotland.

30. Russell Knox
The Scot may be the hottest golfer going this side of Francesco Molinari. Knox won the Irish Open two weeks ago, a week after finishing second at the French Open. And he tied for 12th at the U.S. Open last month. Clearly, a switch flipped recently. He even played three rounds in the 60s at the Scottish Open before fading on Sunday. In three visits to the British, Knox's best finish is T30.

31. Matt Kuchar
Kuchar had his finest major year ever in 2017, including his career-best runner-up to Jordan Spieth at the British. He has only one other top-10 at the British, with another top-15, but mostly a bunch of mediocrity. Those famous Kuchar back-door top-10s have been hard to come by across the pond. Remarkable Kuchar factoid: He's missed his past two cuts at the U.S. and Scottish Opens, The last time that had happened was seven years ago (British and Canadian Opens).

32. Tony Finau
Finau has played the Open twice, T18 in his 2016 debut and T27 last year. And he already has top-10s in the first two majors this year, so this price seems low, maybe by a lot. Putting is the weak point of Finau's game, but you can negotiate Carnoustie with mediocre putting. Finau is ranked 18th in strokes gained: approach, 32nd off the tee and 39th in bogey avoidance.

33. Louis Oosthuizen
Oosthuizen withdrew from last week's Scottish Open, citing a neck injury. Even before that, he had seen his world ranking drop outside the top-30 this year. The South African has been on the fringe to playing well with seven top-25s, including at both majors. Even though Oosthuizen has missed the past two British cuts, we all know his history there: a win in 2010 and a co-runner-up in 2015. What we don't know is the extent of his neck problem.

34. Adam Scott
Scott continues to fall from elite status, but it's hard to ignore such a stellar record at the British, even recently. He tied for 22nd last year and, before a T43 the year before, Scott ran off four straight top-10s. He even tied for 27th at Carnoustie in 2007. You can make your way around the course without a putting A-game, which of course is Scott's kryptonite.

35. Chris Wood
The veteran Englishman needed a tie for second at the recent French Open just to climb back inside the top-100 in the OWGR. He's never quite developed to what was expected after he finished top-5 in his first two British Opens in 2008-09, the first one as an amateur. But Wood followed up Paris with a a tie for 14th at the Irish Open, and he was T14 last year at Royal Birkdale.

36. Haotong Li
The highest-ranked Chinese golfer peaked at No. 32 after beating Rory McIlroy to win in Dubai in January. He's slipped a bit since then, but lately has been finding his game, with top-25s in his four of his past five starts, including the U.S. Open and last week's Scottish Open. Still only 22, Li electrified the golf world by finishing solo third behind Jordan Spieth and Matt Kuchar last year at Royal Birkdale.

37. Tomas Pieters
The big-hitting Belgian has tumbled from the mid-30s in the world rankings at the beginning of the year to 69th now – and he needed a tie for sixth last week in Scotland just to climb back inside the top-80. Pieters missed the cut at the Masters and didn't even qualify for the U.S. Open. but since then, he's made five straight European Tour cuts, going T14-T18-T31-T40 before the T6. So at least he's getting paid again.

38. Martin Kaymer
The former world No. 1 is a real conundrum: Which Kaymer will show up? He recently tumbled out of the top-100 for the first time in more than a decade. That said, he's showed flashes of his old self in the weeks leading up to Carnoustie. In his past seven starts, Kaymer tied for second at the BMW International and for eighth at the Italian Open, but he also missed five cuts. The German has missed only one cut in 10 British starts, was top-40 each of the last two years and tied for 12th in 2015. Good luck figuring out this guy.

39. Lee Westwood
The 45-year-old Westwood did not qualify for the year's first two majors, the first he'd missed since the 2010 PGA. Further, he hasn't contended at the British since 2013. But Westwood has played respectably there, with top-30s the past two years. He's also been on a decent run of late, tying for fifth in Italy, for 19th in France and 32nd last week in Scotland.

40. Peter Uihlein
Uihlein cut his teeth playing in Europe, and only recently has gotten status on the PGA Tour. He's finished fifth twice recently at the Wells Fargo and the Memorial, after which his world ranking moved inside the top-50. Uihlein tied for 12th at the Irish Open two weeks ago. He tied for 44th last year at Royal Birkdale.

41. Cameron Smith
Since tying for fifth at the Masters, the young Aussie had fallen hard, missing the cut at The Players, the Memorial and the U.S. Open. He stemmed the bleeding somewhat with a T42 last week in Scotland. Smith missed the cut last year in his maiden British Open.

42. Danny Willett
Willett's precipitous fall since his stunning win at the 2016 Masters has been remarkable, as he tumbled from inside the top-10 in the OWGR to outside the top-400. So what is he doing here? Good question. Well, in the past two months, he's tied for eighth at the Italian Open, for sixth at the Irish Open and for 19th last week at the Scottish Open. That's hardly a representative sample size, but the upside is there, and at very affordable DFS prices.

43. Charley Hoffman
There's no question that Hoffman's game has slipped this season, as he has fallen from inside the top-25 in the world. But there's no denying his competence in big tournaments. He's finished top-25 in five of the past six majors, including T20 last year at Royal Birkdale, his best-ever showing at the British. Hoffman also tied for 20th in another elite field at the WGc-Mexico back in March. And he was T19 last week in Scotland.

44. Bryson DeChambeau
It all comes down to how serious DeChambeau's shoulder injury is. He withdrew from the John Deere Classic last week during the first round. Here's what we had written before that WD: DeChambeau made his British debut last year with a missed cut. We suspected this thinking-man's golfer will figure things out, albeit without his compass. Seriously, DeChambeau has been on a world-class surge the past few months, culminating with a win at The Memorial.

45. Webb Simpson
The British has never been Simpson's cup of tea. He tied for 16th in his debut in 2011 but hasn't had even a top-35 since then. Simpson is playing the best golf of his career the last few months, highlighted by his runaway win at The Players.

46. Jason Dufner
Dufner has never contended at the British, but he has finished top-25 the past two years and has made five successive cuts. He hasn't had a good season, but still has the veteran wherewithal for the occasional good week in big events, such as a tie for fifth at The Players and a T25 at the U.S. Open.

47. Jorge Campillo
The veteran Spaniard had been playing the best stretch of golf in his career, with seven top-10s since January, including at the French and Italian Opens in the past few weeks. At 32 and having been a pro since 2009, this remarkably is Campillo's first British Open.

48. Ryan Fox
The 31-year-old New Zealander hits the ball a ton. More importantly, Fox has been on form, moving from outside the top-130 in the world into the 80s. Last week, Fox tied for sixth in Scotland, just days after losing in a playoff to Russell Knox at the Irish Open. He also tied for eighth at the Italian Open last month. Also last month, Fox tied for 41st the U.S. Open. It was only his fourth career major. Fox missed the British cut last year and tied for 49th in 2015.

49. Charl Schwartzel
The South African has top-20s in five of the past eight Opens, peaking with a tie for seventh in 2014. But two of the past three have been outside the top-60, and this season has also been substandard for Schwartzel, who is in danger of falling out of the top-50 in the world. He tied for second at The Players, which is nothing to dismiss, but there simply hasn't been a lot of good in his 2018.

50. Alexander Bjork
The 28-year-old Swede has played in only one major, missing the cut last year at Royal Birkdale. Bjork has been on quite a run this season, however, winning for the first time on the European Tour at the China Open in late April. He hasn't slowed down much, with T8-T14-T19 in the past three weeks in Italy, Ireland and Scotland.

51. Gary Woodland

52. Kiradech Aphibarnrat

53. Paul Dunne

54. Matt Wallace

55. Byeong Hun An

56. Russell Henley

57. Ross Fisher

58. Julian Suri

59. Matthew Southgate

60. Brandt Snedeker

61. Luke List

62. Dylan Frittelli