It’s been a long time since one of the golf majors has loomed with a tightly bunched field of contenders to win such as the 146th Open Championship has. Two-time major winner (the 2015 Masters and U.S. Open) Jordan Spieth is the pick here. In a quick look at the top 10 contenders in the last three occurrences of each of the majors, a statistical profile shows none of them with anywhere near the narrow range of finish estimates as we have this week. Ranked right behind Spieth are five-time major winner Phil Mickelson and world no. 1 Dustin Johnson. The field includes all of the top 50 players in the world per the Hawley Ratings. (The highest ranked player who is missing is no. 53 Ryan Palmer.)

Looking at the field from some other perspectives, defending champ Henrik Stensonand Rickie Fowler are the top players in the field when measured by their fit for the typical Open Championship course. (Driving distance and sand saves percentage are the top two statistics as correlated with success in the event.) The hottest players in the field when measured over just their last four appearances are Spieth, Matt Kuchar, rookie Xander Schauffele, Daniel Berger, and Fowler. If measuring hottest players in the field over the last five months, it’s Paul Casey, Fowler, U.S. Open winner Brooks Koepka, Kuchar, and Louis Oosthuizen. Take your pick!

In the Barbasol Championship, being contested concurrently and in relative obscurity in Auburn AL, veteran Chad Campbell is the favorite. Campbell has by far the best recent record among contestants, finishing 13th in the Nelson, 10th in the FedEx, ninth in the Greenbrier, and 12th in the Deere among his last six starts. Others with some improving form over recent events include Rick Lamb, Patrick Rodgers, and Rory Sabbatini.