British Open Favorites 2012: Top International Players at Royal Lytham

Darren Clarke will be the top international player to watch this July at the Open Championship from Royal Lytham & St. Annes in England. 

Clarke won his first career major at the British Open in 2011, taking the coveted Claret Jug home to his native Northern Ireland after surviving a hungry and decorated field of the world's best golfers.

Clarke is not alone atop the list of international players to watch for, though. In fact, he will be just one of several top international golfers to keep an eye on this week, as the season's third major tournament tees off on Thursday.

Rory McIlroy, Northern Ireland

The 23-year-old star has yet to follow up his first career major with another. McIlroy put himself on the map a year ago when he won the 2011 U.S. Open at Congressional, but has since failed to live up to the hype that his dominant play created.

The Northern Ireland native will be under the microscope this week, though, after tough disastrous outings at the Masters and U.S. Open in 2012. McIlroy missed the cut at Olympic Club last month and finished 40th at Augusta last April. 

McIlroy's third place finish at St. Andrews in 2010 is significant, however. The British Open is surely close to his heart as a UK product and you can bet he'll be focused and gunning for the Open Championship this July. 

Louis Oosthuizen, South Africa

The same year McIlroy finished third at the Open Championship, South African Louis Oosthuizen won the Claret Jug. Oosthuizen shot an impressive 16-under for the tournament in 2010 to claim his first career major win and add a significant notch to his golfing resume. 

The 29-year-old nearly won his second career major last April, finishing second at the Masters after losing a heartbreaking playoff to Bubba Watson. If Oosthuizen is on his game this week, there is no reason why he can't be there in the end to join the impressive list of golfers who have won more than one Open Championship. 

Lee Westwood, England

Lee Westwood's finest moment at the Open Championship also came in 2010, when he finished second behind Louis Oosthuizen at St. Andrews. Unlike McIlroy, though, Westwood has played excellent golf at the season's first two major tournaments. 

Westwood earned a third place finish at the Masters this past spring and snagged a Top 10 finish at the U.S. Open last June. There's no doubt that Westwood will be even more motivated to claim his first career major victory in his home country of England at the British Open. 

At age 39, Westwood has dealt with his fair share of heartbreaks and would deserve nothing more than a bit of solid luck this week at Royal Lytham. Either way, fans should expect big things from Westwood as he returns home looking for a Claret Jug. 

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