British Open 2013: Final Projections for Field's Notable Names

With the 2013 British Open set to tee off on Thursday at Muirfield in Scotland, the world is buzzing about who will hold up the Claret Jug next.

Will it be Tiger Woods, who has already notched four victories this year? Will it be Phil Mickelson, who just won the Scottish Open? How about this year's major winners, Adam Scott and Justin Rose?

Here are my final projections for the top five favorites (according to Bovada) at the 2013 British Open.

Tiger Woods (8/1)

It's no wonder why Tiger Woods is the favorite at Muirfield this year. He's posted five top-10 finishes, including four victories, on the PGA Tour in 2013.

There is, of course, that five-year drought of not winning a major. Tiger has also performed poorly in his last two tournaments, placing 65th at the Memorial Tournament and 32nd at the U.S. Open.

But when you look at the grand scope of things, you have to call Tiger the favorite. He's a three-time British Open champion, and he has registered the best average finish at the major among the favorites this year (19th), per Kyle Porter of CBS Sports. 

And for those of you worried about his driving accuracy in what always seem to be unfavorable conditions at the British Open, Woods may not even use his driver that much.

Woods compared the course at Muirfield this year to Royal Liverpool in 2006, where he won the British Open last.

Woods said, via Ron Sirak of Golf Digest:

"

It's playing really fast out there. I only hit one driver that week. This golf course is playing similar to that. It's quick. I've played a couple days now, three days, and I've only hit a couple of drivers here.

"

Prediction: victory

Phil Mickelson (14/1)

Among the 2013 British Open favorites, Mickelson owns one of the worst average finishes at the major (53rd, per Porter's report). The 43-year-old has two top-10 finishes at the tournament in 19 career appearances. That includes missing the cut last year and placing 66th at Muirfield in 2002.

Mickelson does have a combined six top-three finishes and two victories on the PGA Tour and European Tour this year, including his recent win at the Scottish Open.

But I can't help but look at his history at the British Open and gasp.

Based on Lefty's play this season, I'm going to give him a top-10 finish, but nothing more.

Prediction: top-10 finish 

Justin Rose (18/1)

The 2013 U.S. Open champion has to be feeling good heading into the British Open. The only problem is, he shares the same boat as Mickelson in that he has rarely performed well at the major.

Rose placed fourth at the 1998 British Open as an amateur but hasn't finished better than 12th since. That includes missing the cut last year and placing 22nd at Muirfield in 2002.

Bob Harig of ESPN added:

Sometimes a player's style doesn't fit the British Open. That appears to be the case with Rose. This is as good a year as any for the 32-year-old to buck the trend, but I just don't see it happening.

Prediction: top-20 finish

Adam Scott (20/1)

The 2013 Masters champion has posted an average finish of 47th at the British Open. On the other hand, he placed second last year, which makes projecting the 33-year-old mighty difficult.

Scott has registered three top-10 finishes in nine PGA Tour events this season, but he placed 45th at the U.S. Open and 57th at AT&T National. He appears to be going backward.

Also, Scott's game isn't well-suited for Muirfield. He's never been a very good putter or accurate off the tee. At AT&T National, he ranked second in the field in greens-in-regulation percentage but 74th in putts per round, via CBS Sports.

Prediction: top-25 finish

Graeme McDowell (22/1)

Graeme McDowell has posted a combined five top-10 finishes and two victories on the PGA Tour and European Tour this year. He won the RBC Heritage in April, and he's coming off a victory at the Alstom Open de France.

On the other hand, the 33-year-old from Northern Ireland had missed the cut twice and had never finished in the top 10 at the British Open until last year, when he finished fifth.

Will McDowell ride the momentum from last year?

Well, the interesting thing about McDowell's general struggles at the British Open is that he has always felt at home in the major, as he said on Tuesday, via Steve Douglas of the Associated Press. McDowell grew up playing at Royal Portrush, a links-style golf course to which 2011 British Open champ Darren Clarke attaches his name.

But perhaps McDowell is coming around. His recent wins at the French Open and the World Match Play Championship give him hope, since the tournaments were played on similar courses as Muirfield. That's not to mention his victory at the gusty RBC Heritage.

Overall, McDowell has been very inconsistent this year, but I'm going to give him a top-10 finish at Muirfield this year.

Prediction: top-10 finish