British Open 2013 Leaderboard: Projections for Top Performers on Day 2

The top of the leaderboard at the 2013 British Open offers several surprises, but current leader Zach Johnson has the proper game to succeed in links golf. Johnson shot a 66 on Thursday to post five-under, and no one managed to catch him.

However, there are plenty of golfers hot on his trail, but an unlikely duo is in closest proximity at four-under: 1998 Open champion Mark O'Meara and 29-year-old Spaniard Rafael Cabrera-Bello.

O'Meara had quite a run in the year he won the Claret Jug—he was the victor at the Masters, tied for third at the U.S. Open and was joint fourth at the PGA Championship. Dry conditions allowed the ball to roll out a lot at Muirfield Golf Links, and O'Meara took full advantage.

Meanwhile, Cabrera-Bello has won twice on the European Tour but has a very thin major championship record overall, so it's hard to know what to expect from him in Round 2.

Below is a closer look at this trio and projections for how they'll score on Friday in Gullane, Scotland.

Note: Statistics are courtesy of PGATour.com and EuropeanTour.com. British Open information was obtained from the official website. Tournament history can be located at the Official World Golf Ranking.

Zach Johnson

It's no secret that having an earlier tee time in Round 1 was an advantage, but Johnson still had to execute his game plan and keep the ball in the fairway to succeed at Muirfield.

Getting off to a hot start always helps. Johnson birdied No. 3, eagled the par-five fifth and followed that with two consecutive birdies to go out in 31. The going got tougher on the back nine, but Johnson didn't flinch and ground his way to an even-par finish on the more difficult side.

Johnson only needed 26 putts, and converted the momentum he generated with his strong runner-up finish at last week's John Deere Classic to the Open Championship.

With his low ball flight, stellar short game and vastly improved putting over the past week-and-a-half, there's no question the 2007 Masters winner is a legitimate threat to win.

Longer courses tend to give Johnson trouble, but with how dry and fast Muirfield is playing, that won't be any cause for concern. Although he has to play in the afternoon wave on Friday, expect him to hold steady.

Prediction: Three birdies, two bogeys and a round of one-under 70.

Mark O'Meara

The confidence O'Meara has shown in his game thus far is evident, and the lack of distance he has at this juncture of his career doesn't matter as much on this shorter course's spread.

PGA Tour Media's Twitter page did a nice job highlighting just how stellar O'Meara's round was in the context of his previous best efforts in the Open:

When he shot 69 in 2009, though, O'Meara only managed to finish in a tie for 70th. Considering the BBC forecast doesn't indicate any horrific turns for the worse from Mother Nature, though, it's feasible that O'Meara can still hang tough.

Another aspect of Friday's round that helps is that O'Meara tees off in the fourth game at 7:05 BST. Maintenance will have to be done before Muirfield becomes borderline unplayable, so O'Meara will benefit from any adjustments tournament officials make.

Much like in the opening 18 holes, though, I expect O'Meara to lose some shots on the back nine.

If not for his long putt for eagle at the 17th falling, the scorecard wouldn't have looked quite as good—particularly since O'Meara had a painful lip-out at the last.

Prediction: Four birdies, four bogeys, one double bogey and a round of two-over 73.

Rafael Cabrera-Bello

This is truly uncharted territory for the 100th-ranked player in the world. A tie for 29th at the Alstom Open de France and a missed cut at the Scottish Open were the results that preceded this event for Cabrera-Bello, so it wasn't as though he came in sporting fine competitive form.

Oh well. What matters is that Cabrera-Bello putted beautifully on Thursday to bail himself out of the rather frequent trouble he was in.

ESPN's Justin Ray showcased just how poor Cabrera-Bello had been in majors before his remarkable display in Round 1:

At Muirfield, it couldn't be more critical to hit the fairway due to the thickness of the wispy rough that sits just yards off the short grass. Cabrera-Bello hit just six of the 14 in regulation in his first round.

That doesn't exactly bode well for success in the immediate future. One advantage Cabrera-Bello does have is length, which allows him to hit very short clubs to many of Muirfield's greens.

If that type of erratic play off the tee continues—and unfortunately, I believe it will—the stead Cabrera-Bello is enjoying near the top will be short-lived.

Cabrera-Bello will have a tough go at it on Friday, but even if he loses three shots to par overall, he shouldn't be in a bad position ahead of moving day.

Prediction: Two birdies, five bogeys and a round of three-over 74.