Five who could win British Open at Royal Lytham

So it'll be easier? No, because the rough and the fescue sound like they're going to be virtually unplayable in places. That makes this Open shape up more like the 1999 fiasco at Carnoustie, where the only thing as absurd as the length of the rough was the narrow width of the fairways.matériel golf


So let's begging guessing

The Fab Five: Men who can win

Tiger Woods. He's striking the ball superbly and brimming with confidence. That's not unusual. Woods typically does a brilliant job of thinking his way around British links. He's not afraid to leave his driver in the bag if he has to, although for a few years, he seemed like he was afraid to pull the driver out. The iron-off-the-tee strategy worked well at Royal Liverpool, where he avoided the dangerous fairway pot bunkers even though it meant he played longer irons into the green. He was the best iron player in the game at that point, and the best shotmaker. He hasn't forgotten how to work the ball, and that makes him one of the favorites every time he tees it up, no matter what you think of him.

Lee Westwood. Yeah, yeah, I know. I've pretty much sworn off picking Westwood to win a major. He's got a little bit of a Zorba the Greek putting stroke -- Never on Sunday. But the often remedial speeds of Open greens help smooth over the weakest part of Westwood's game. His ballstriking should dissect Lytham like he's taking apart a frog in a high school biology lab. Crappy weather? Who's a better mudder than Westwood. He grew up playing in the slop, and did he ever stop smiling when he was sopping wet during the Ryder Cups in Ireland and Wales? I don't think so. He's a good man in poor conditions. And he prepped himself to make 2012 a "Now or Never" kind of year. The Open would be his best chance at making it Now.

Louis Oosthuizen. We forgot about Louis after his runaway win at St. Andrews in 2010. He won big in big wind, so we know he can play in weather. And we know he does well on big stages. If not for Bubba Watson's sensational wedge in the playoff, King Louis might have won the Masters. He's also got an even-keeled personality that lets him deal with adversity and pressure well. The guy was the first in Masters history to make a double eagle on the second hole at Augusta National. He can win an Open… again.

Adam Scott. Although it went into the books as an un-official victory, Scott won the 2006 Northern Trust Open after it was shortened to 36 holes because of heavy rain. Like Westwood, putting is Scott's Achilles heel, so slower greens could help. But this isn't a scientific pick. No, the famously major-less Scott is on this list for the simple reason that I awoke from a dream a few weeks ago in which he won the British Open. He's got a great swing, we've always expected great things from him and he's entering the prime of his career in his 30s. Maybe it's finally his time.Fers Titleist 712 CB

Zach Johnson. Go ahead and chuckle, but this guy is quietly having a heck of a career. Only Tiger, Mickelson and Stricker have more wins than Johnson since 2007. He's coming off a John Deere Classic victory in which he swung as well as he has at any time in his career, and his putter got hot. Rarely do guys win the week before the Open and then win the Open itself. The last man who did it was Lee Trevino in 1971 when he went Open-Open, Canadian and British. Johnson is a player who isn't short on self-confidence, and he can flat-out roll his rock.Fers Titleist 775 CB