Golf's Greatest 20 Postwar Open Players

Marking the 2008 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale, Patrick Kidd of The Times listed those who competed in the tournament in order of their prowess since 1946 to present.

The greatest American players refer to the championship as "The Open," so who am I to disagree with them.

Kidd's first 20, using a weighted system according to their finishing position in the championship brought the following results:

1. Jack Nicklaus (1115 pts)

2. Peter Thomson (975)

3. Tom Watson (675)

4. Nick Faldo (675)

5. Bobby Locke (630)

6. Roberto De Vicenzo (575)

7. Gary Player (550)

8. Ernie Els (545)

9. Severiano Ballesteros (475)

10. Lee Trevino (465)

11. Greg Norman (465)

12. Tiger Woods (440)

13. Bernhard Langer (440)

14. Arnold Palmer (395)

15. Christy O'Connor Sr. (395)

16. Bob Charles (390)

17. Dai Rees (385)

18. Fred Daly (355)

19. Kel Nagle (354)

20. Flory van Donck (330)

With Tiger absent this year, only two can improve their positions—Tom Watson, Greg Norman and Ernie Els. However, hopefully Tiger still has many more years left to climb the ladder.