Four players who will make a run at their 1st major at the 2014 Open Championship

In 2009, Tom Watson, at nearly 60 years old, almost won the Open Championship at Turnberry. And while he ultimately stumbled in a playoff against Stewart Cink, it proved one thing: anything can happen and anyone can contend at the Open. Cink himself was an unlikely winner. He joined a group of champions that came largely out of nowhere. Unknowns like Ben Curtis, Todd Hamilton, and Paul Lawrie have won this championship in the past 15 years. Like Cink, they were first-time major winners.
The 2014 edition of the Open Championship is another major up for grabs and there’s really no clear favorite. We could be looking at another first time and unexpected major winner. Here are some major-less players to watch this week at Royal Liverpool.
Lee Westwood - Westwood is running out of time to capture that elusive major championship. He is now 41 and has come close on so many occasions over his two-decade career. Many people forget that in 2009, he had a great chance to win the Open or at least join Watson and Cink in that playoff. But Westwood made bogey on 3 of the last 4 holes and finished in third place. He finished second in 2010 and third again last year. He’s been close and 40-somethings have been on quite a streak at the Open. This could be the year that Westwood finally captures a major title.
Luke Donald - Like his countryman Westwood, Luke Donald has been in the group of best players not to win a major for quite some time now. For the most part, Donald has struggled at the Open. In the thirteen Opens that he has played, he has finished in the top five just twice. That’s it. In fact, he’s missed the cut in two of the last three. But remember, this is a tournament where anything can happen, and quickly, so Donald could surprise this week. His last two times out in Europe, Donald has finished T3 (BMW Championship) and T16 (Scottish Open). His Scottish Open performance featured a final round 66. Maybe some momentum is building as he heads to Hoylake.
Henrik Stenson - It was a magical season in 2013 for Stenson. He won both the PGA Tour’s FedExCup and the European Tour’s Race to Dubai. It was a great and lucrative run that introduced Stenson to most of the world, but it was a run that didn’t include a major championship. Big things were predicted in 2014 for Stenson and while he hasn’t delivered with a win, he has been remarkably consistent. He finished T14 at the Masters, but has been even better recently. As the calendar turned to June, he became a fixture on leaderboards. His finishes since June 1 are 5, T4 (at the U.S. Open), and T2. So he seems to be in good form. Add to that the fact that he finished second to Phil Mickelson last year and his chances to capture that first major seem just as high as anyone in the field.
Jordan Spieth - Since turning pro, Jordan Spieth has been incredibly impressive and exceeded expectations are each mile marker. While the other golfers listed here may be running out of chances to win a major, Spieth is just getting started. And while these other golfers may be feeling the pressure to get it done, Spieth doesn’t seem to be bothered at all. That’s the way it should be at 20 years old. In his short career, Spieth seems to do his best work at the majors. He finished T2 at the Masters this year and T17 at the U.S. Open. Throw in a T4 at the so-called “Fifth Major,” the PLAYERS Championship, and you are looking at a guy that seems poised to take home a signature title. The only reason he is a little lower on this list is his lack of experience. A 44th place finish last year may cause some concern, but again, he’s only 20 years old and and was actually in it on the weekend last year at Muirfield before receding in the final round. It’s coming soon for Spieth.