2021 British Open predictions, picks: Ranking the top of the field from 1-21 at Royal St. George's

From Jon Rahm to Tony Finau, here's how the field in Sandwich stacks up

Open Championship golf is quite distinct from the three other majors, which -- at least in theory -- should lend itself to being easier to predict. The problem? So often players will show up on Open leaderboards from out of nowhere, and Ben Curtis or Darren Clarke (good players but certainly not favorites) will end up holding the Claret Jug on Sunday. Still, there are trends we can look at and trajectories we can follow. Jordan Spieth is an elite links golfer. So is Xander Schauffele. Brooks Koepka and Scottie Scheffler have posted recent finishes at majors that have been impressive. Rory McIlroy destroys at Opens. These are the types of historical events that make it easier when trying to rank a field of 156 of the best golfers in the world. So let's take a look at that group of 156 and whittle it down to the 21 most likely to win the 149th Open Championship at Royal St. George's from most likely (Jon Rahm) to 21st most likely (the only man to finish in the top 10 at each of the last two Opens).