The year was 1998, the tournament was the Open Championship and the venue was Royal Birkdale. The man (or boy) was Justin Rose. Just 17 years old, Rose was still an amateur- but you wouldn't have known. As a truly remarkable week of golf drew to a close, Justin Rose prepared a 50-year chip on the 18th hole. It is said to be the loudest roar ever on a golf course as the crowd cheered the 17-year-old's chip into the 18th hole of Royal Birkdale's famous course. The Englishman's final-hole birdie gave him a fourth-place finish that no one could have predicted.

19 years later, another group of Englishmen will take to the Royal Birkdale golf course looking to put their own name in the history books. But which homeland hopeful has the best shot at glory?

Justin Rose

How could we not start with Just Rose? The World No. 12 has had plenty of personal success in his career, but seems to particularly enjoy representing his home nation. Back-to-back Ryder Cup victories for Team Europe and a historic gold medal representing Great Britain as golf returned to the Olympics for the first time since 1904 in 2016 really emphasised Rose's patriotic side. The 36-year-old also became the first Englishman in 43 years to win the U.S. Open back in 2013. Since he burst onto the scene in such dramatic fashion on home soil, Justin Rose has been a fan favourite in England. Rose believes that winning the Claret Jug at Royal Birkdale would "Close the book" on his Open Championship fairytale.

Ian Poulter

Many will see Poulter as an outsider, given his age (41) and world ranking (78). However, there is certainly a case to be made for the man who took second place at this venue in 2008 and T3 in Muirfield (2013) last time he made the cut. Ian Poulter's Ryder Cup heroics have endeared him to the hearts of the British golf fans, so he will certaintly have the full support of the home crowd spurring him on. The veteran will also be in high spirits following a decent -7 for T9 in last week's Scottish Open and an impressive T2 at this year's PLAYERS Championship- the biggest tournament he has played so far in 2017. 

Tommy Fleetwood

With two wins, a pair of second-places and a total of eight top-10 finishes in 2017, Tommy Fleetwood is without question the in-form Englishman going into the British Major. Having climbed from World No. 99 to World No. 14 already this year, Fleetwood will seriously fancy his chances of furthering his progress on home soil. The Race to Dubai leader is dominating the European Tour and has a fourth-place finish to his name in this year's U.S. Open (the only major he has ever made the CUT for). All eyes will be on the 26-year-old and he will need to thrive under pressure if he is to pull off a crowd-pleasing performance.

Lee Westwood

I will accept that Lee Westwood is another player who simply doesn't seem to pack the same punch as days gone by. Of his incredible 23 European Tour wins, none have come post-2014. In fact, the veteran is without any tour win since his Indonesian Masters success back in 2015. Regardless, it would be bordering on rude to rule Lee Westwood out of a major tournament given his record of eighteen top-10 finishes and nine top-3 finishes. Still, a major championship title continues to elude Westwood, who is now 44 years old and needing to top a major field sooner rather than later.

The list of English potential could go on and on, with Paul Casey sitting just two spots behind Tommy Fleetwood in the world rankings, Danny Willett having won the 2016 Masters and Callum Shinkwin narrowly missing out on glory at last week's Scottish Open (but sealing his qualification for the Open Championship in the process). It truly is a testament to the quality of British golf that so many great players haven't made this list, but I had to narrow it down to my top picks. The four players I have chosen all have added motivation to push for the coveted Claret Jug, from unfinished business to last chance saloons, and this will have a huge effect on their chances of winning 2017's third major.

Written by Joe Carabini

joe.carabini@foremostgolf.com