British Open Field 2013: Unlikely Golfers Poised to Make a Run at Muirfield

Golf majors are usually full of surprise, and this year's British Open should be no different.

Of the last four winners at the Open Championship, three of them have never won another major. In fact, 11 of the last 13 majors have been won by guys who had zero career major titles entering that tournament. 

While fans will hope to see great performances out of stars like Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Phil Mickelson, it is more likely that the winner comes from a more unlikely source.

Here are some players looking to make a name for themselves at the upcoming tournament.

Fredrik Jacobson

At the start of the year, Freddie Jacobson was one of the best players on tour. In his first eight tournaments, he finished in the top 25 in all but one of them.

While he has slowed down lately, the Swedish player still has a scoring average of 69.8 per round, which ranks eighth-best on tour.

Additionally, the 38-year-old excels at scrambling, ranking 19th in the world with a mark of 62.4 percent. The ability to get out of trouble and still post low scores is vital at the British Open, especially with some of the largest bunkers you will ever see on a golf course.

Jacobson's skill in this area has helped him do well at this event in the past, and he should do well this week.

Matteo Manassero

In the first two majors of the year, Matteo Manassero struggled mightily and missed the cut. He will try to prove in the next event that these were flukes.

The 20-year-old player has already won four European titles in his short career and is certain to win many more championships in the future as he gets stronger.

Until then, he is greatly helped by his putting ability. He currently ranks fourth in the world in strokes gained with putting per round, and that will be a big help on this difficult course.

In 2010, Manassero finished 13th at the Open Championship when he was an amateur. As a professional, he has the ability to do even better this time around.

Billy Horschel

Billy Horschel, 26, is just starting to make a name for himself on tour, but he still has only 85-1 odds to win this tournament, according to Vegas Insider.

This seems like a solid bet considering how well the young player has performed this season. Horschel has made the cut in all but one of his 18 tournaments to go with seven top-10 finishes.

He made a name for himself at the U.S. Open by finishing tied for fourth at an incredibly difficult course.

While some may think they have seen the last of him on leaderboards, his skill will not allow him to go away any time soon. He has a great mix of power and accuracy off the tee, which continues onto the fairway at a solid rate. This has helped him rank second in birdie average this season.

At Muirfield, he should be able to pass the field with birdies throughout the event.

Note: All statistics courtesy of PGATour.com.

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