Ranking the top contenders for this week’s British Open

Set your alarms and dust off your bagpipes, golf fans, because it’s officially British Open week.

The best golfers in the world will congregate at the iconic Royal Troon Golf Club this week for the final major championship of the year.

Here’s our power ranking of the seven players with the best chance to win the British Open:

1. Scottie Scheffler

If you’re power ranking a list of golfers in 2024, Scheffler is going to be at the top of the list every time.

The world No. 1 has won six of his past 10 starts, and he’s the best tee-to-green player on the planet by a wide margin. Scheffler has finished T23, T21 and T8 in his three career British Open starts, which isn’t great by his standards, but he still deserves to be the favorite this week.

2. Rory McIlroy

Say what you will about McIlroy’s major championship drought, but it’s impossible to place him any lower on this list. The Northern Irishman has a win and seven top-six finishes in his British Open career, and he’s finished T8 or better in eight of his past 11 major starts. A major victory is coming for McIlroy soon.

3. Bryson DeChambeau

With a win at the U.S. Open, a runner-up finish at the PGA Championship and a T6 at the Masters, DeChambeau has been brilliant in major championships this season. It’s hard to trust him on links courses, though, considering he has finished worse than 50th four times in six British Open starts. 

4. Collin Morikawa

Morikawa has been playing superb golf for four straight months. The American has six top-10 finishes in his last nine stroke-play starts, and he hasn’t finished worse than T16 since the Valero Texas Open in April. He’s also gained strokes in all four major categories in five straight starts. 

A former winner at the British Open, Morikawa has a great chance to lift the Claret Jug again this week.

5. Xander Schauffele

There aren’t many players who consistently perform in majors better than Schauffele. The PGA Championship winner has finished T18 or better in 10 straight major starts, and he hasn’t finished worse than solo eighth in majors this season. Schauffele has the all-around game to compete at Royal Troon. 

6. Ludvig Aberg

Aberg entered the final round of the Genesis Scottish Open with a two-stroke lead, but a 3-over 73 on Sunday dropped him back to a tie for fourth. It will take time for the rising star to learn how to win at this level, but he should be in the mix once again this week. 

7. Jon Rahm

There’s a steep dropoff after the top six names on our list, but we can’t finish without mentioning one of the best British Open performers of the past few years. Rahm has finished T2, T34, T3 and T11 in his past four starts at this championship. Rahm has played terribly in majors this year, but he finished T3 and T10 in two LIV Golf starts since withdrawing from the U.S. Open with a toe injury.