It would be easy to back a favourite in this year's Open Championship. Dustin Johnson comes in at 14/1 and he is the best in the world, after all. Jordan Spieth is another obvious choice, holding level-odds with the World No. 1, whilst Sergio Garcia will look to snowball following his Masters victory earlier this year. Rory McIlroy's poor form gives him less-flattering odds but a comeback is inevitable and we all know he has a flair for the dramatic. Wouldn't this be the perfect stage?

The aforementioned players all have one crucial thing in common, though: they've all won a major. And, weirdly enough, that seems to be a snag more than anything else in the more recent majors. Why? Well, we are currently on a run of SEVEN maiden major winners. You're probably thinking 'Wow! That must be a record!' But no, in fact, a run of NINE set the record as recently as 2012. When Graeme McDowell took the trophy at the 2010 U.S. Open, people were surprised. The people would be surprised a further eight times- stretching to Webb Simpson's 2012 win in the same tournament- before Ernie Els conquered Adam Scott in the Open Championship a month later. However, in an era of golf that lacks any truly dominant players (we're talking Byron Nelson and Tiger Woods-esque), the name 'Open Championship' seems very fitting for a tournament that could be won by just about anybody. So let's take a look at some of the players that will be pushing for their first major at Royal Birkdale this week.

Rickie Fowler

I know, I know. It's ludicrous of me to criticise the idea of backing an obvious choice and then throw Rickie Fowler's name in the ring. Cobra's Californian is playing arguably the best golf of his career in 2017. That's not to say he's been topping the field time after time (his only win of 2017 came in the Honda Classic back in February), but his form has been consistent with seven top-10 finishes and a T11 in the Masters. His next major, the U.S. Open, saw Fowler claim T5. This bodes well for the American as he has a tendency to play his best golf in veins; something most evident in 2014 when he went T5, T2, T2 and T3 in in the majors. I'd back him to kick on from T11 and T5 so far this year and certainly be in the hunt for the top prize come Sunday, so long as he learns from his mistakes at the U.S. Open where he faded away to lose a first-round lead.

Tommy Fleetwood

What a year it's been for Tommy Fleetwood. Two European Tour wins, one play-off loss on the same tour and a fourth-place finish in the U.S. Open. Fleetwood now leads the Race to Dubai ahead of the likes of Sergio Garcia, Jon Rahm, Alex Noren and Justin Rose. The Southport star shot consistently and effectively in the U.S. Open; finishing inside the top four on every day of the tournament. Whilst that was only the second major that he's made the CUT for in eight attempts, Fleetwood will take encouragement from the fact that the last three major winners have all been won by players on home soil. Will the English crowd carry Tommy Fleetwood to home glory? Quite possibly.

Hideki Matsuyama

I couldn't possibly think of a greater example of 'Close, but no cigar'. Matsuyama is undoubtedly one of the best golfers in the world, and yet he has a terrible (or perhaps not so terrible) knack of slipping under the radar. After his T2 finish at Erin Hills in last month's U.S. Open, the 25-year-old took No. 2 spot in the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR). That result took the Japanese No. 1 to a total of six top-10 major finishes (and a notable T11 in this year's Masters). He's been consistently amongst the top of the field but never come out on top. Matsuyama is exactly the sort of player that seems to be winning major tournaments these days, so keep an eye out.

Jon Rahm

Yes, he's young. Yes, he's only played in four majors (and missed the CUT in one of them). BUT- and that's an enormous BUT- Jon Rahm is, without question, good enough to win a major. At just 22 year old, Rahm has already announced himself to the golfing world as one of the best; climbing to seventh in the OWGR after successes in the Farmers Insurance Open and Dubai Duty Free Irish Open already this year. The Spaniard has every chance of taking The Claret Jug home on Sunday.

Matt Kuchar

An outsider at 50/1, Matt Kuchar is far from a banker at the British Open. However, there is something to be said for Kuchar being the highest-earning active full-time PGA Tour player without a major to his name (a whopping $38 million, in case you're interested). At 39 years old it's fair to say that the Floridian has had more chances than any of the previously mentioned contenders. Despite this, Kuchar's major form has clearly benefited from experience as he failed to register a top-10 finish between 1998 and 2009- making only four of a possible sixteen CUTs and finishing no higher than T48. The American then went on to claim eight top-10 between 2010 and 2017. It would be an upset for sure, but it would be an upset if there wasn't an upset in a major nowadays, right?

So there you have it: Foremost Golf's favourites to carry on this exciting streak of first-time winners and set up a record-equalling ninth in a row at the PGA Championship in August. Anything is possible in golf, so don't count your chickens!

Written by Joe Carabini

joe.carabini@foremostgolf.com