British Open 2012 Leaderboard: Where Tiger Woods and Top Golfers Finished

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Regardless of the fact that 40th-ranked Ernie Els took home the trophy, it was a pretty successful weekend for the world's top-10 golfers.

Of the nine who competed at the 2012 British Open, eight made the cut; an impressive showing for a ranking system that is typically far more miss than hit.

Let's take a look at how the world's 10-best players fared in Lancashire this week, their final tuneup before the year's final major.

Luke Donald

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World Ranking: 1st

British Open: T-5th

Seeing Donald's consistent game this week was an encouraging sign for fans of his; the British expat shot a 68, 69, 70 and 71 over the four rounds (not in that order).

Shooting under-par in the final round, when most of the leaders couldn't even come close to following suit, should give Donald some momentum as he heads into the year's final major.

Rory McIlroy

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World Ranking: 2nd

British Open: T-60th

Rory was never a serious factor after his second-round 75 negated his first-round 67.

He still hasn't finished in the top-25 of a major since his victory at the 2011 U.S. Open.

Lee Westwood

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World Ranking: 3rd

British Open: T-45th

Westwood flew under the radar all tournament, barely making the cut on Friday, then failing to capitalize over the weekend.

He managed a top-45 finish thanks to his consistency––shooting 70, 71, 72 and 73 in four rounds––but without a single day below-par, there was no way for him to make waves.

Tiger Woods

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World Ranking: 4th

British Open: T-3rd

Finishing in a tie for third place at the British Open is only considered a disappointment when your name is Tiger Woods.

Had Tiger not bungled the sixth hole on Sunday, he would have shot even par and finished in contention for the trophy.

It's not the Tiger of old, but it's not too shabby either.

Webb Simpson

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World Ranking: 5th

British Open: DNP

Webb withdrew from the British Open field, awaiting the birth of his second child.

If he plays the PGA Championship, all eyes will be on the reigning U.S. Open champ as he makes his first major appearance since taking home the prestigious trophy.

Bubba Watson

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World Ranking: 6th

British Open: T-23rd

Not a bad showing for Bubba, who needed to put up a good score after getting cut at the U.S. Open.

A 68 on Saturday had him on the precipice of being a Sunday contender, but he couldn't capitalize, shooting a final-round 74 and finishing two shots over par.

Jason Dufner

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World Ranking: 7th

British Open: T-31st

The Duf Man looked poised to make a run after a second-round 66, which had him at four-under going into the weekend.

But two straight poor rounds relegated Dufner to the middle of the leaderboard, where he finished three shots over par.

Matt Kuchar

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World Ranking: 8th

British Open: T-9th

Kuchar, one of the steadiest golfer's in the world, finished at an unsurprising even par––good for a top-10 finish.

It's his second top-10 finish in his last three majors (along with his third place result at the Masters), and his third top-20 finish in his last four.

Justin Rose

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World Ranking: 9th

British Open: CUT

Rose, who played with Tiger Woods in the first two rounds, was the only top-10 golfer to miss the cut at this year's Open Championship.

The underwhelming finish continues a disturbing trend for Rose: he's missed the cut in six of the last 10 majors he's participated in.

Hunter Mahan

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World Ranking: 10th

British Open: T-19th

Well, you can't say Mahan wasn't predictable. He shot scores of 70, 70, 71 and 70 at this year's Open Championship, good for a rare top-20 finish.

He's made the cut in six of his last nine majors, and all six times he's finished between 19th and 39th.