We've hit the third major of the golf season as the 141st Open Championship takes place from Royal Lytham & St. Annes in Lancashire, England.

This is the 11th time that Royal Lytham & St. Annes has hosted the oldest major and the first time since 2001. David Duval took home the Claret Jug that year, winning by three shots over Niclas Fasth and four shots clear of six other players including last year's Open Championship winner Darren Clarke.

Built in 1886, Royal Lytham & St. Annes is a true links course. It may be considered short at 7,086 yards but it is a par 70 and the weather conditions can make it feel a lot longer than it really is. Not helping matters are extremely small greens, tight fairways and 205 bunkers. There is minimal rain in the forecast but the real concern is the wind which should be howling all week. Controlling the ball in the gusty conditions will lead to hitting fairways, which will lead to hitting greens.

With Webb Simpson's win at the U.S. Open last month, there have now been nine consecutive first-time major winners. Call it coincidence, but it’s more about the parity that is on Tour these days. After a long drought, American players have dominated the majors with three straight wins and they will be going for a fourth straight for the first time since 2004. History could be on their side: Since 1995 at St. Andrews, Americans have won 11 of the 17 Open Championships.

Not since 2008 has there been a repeat major winner. Padraig Harrington is the last player to do so, winning the Open Championship and PGA Championship back-to-back. Since then, there have been 14 different winners in majors and not one of those came from Tiger Woods.

Woods owns three Open Championships, 2000 and 2005 at St. Andrews and 2006 at Royal Liverpool Golf Club and he could be a factor if he stays in the fairway. That has been his strength in his three wins this year.

Lee Westwood (+1,200) has been as close as anyone to his first major but has been unable to break through. In his last 17 majors, Westwood has finished in the top three seven times - the most by any player in the modern era without a win. He also has eight Top 10s in his last 12 majors going back to the 2009 Open Championship. In this particular major, he has finished T3 and solo second since then.

Francesco Molinari (+2,500) is playing some of his best golf right now. He has two straight second-place finishes but it wasn't because he faded. He shot a Sunday 64 at the Alstom Open de France, the best of the day to finish one back.  Last week, he lost in a playoff to Jeev Milkha Singh, who shot the best round of the day. This year, he had a T19 at the Masters and a T29 at the U.S. Open, so majors don’t scare him.

Graeme McDowell (+3,000) has not won any event since late in 2010, the same year he won the U.S. Open - his first major. He was knocking on the door again at Olympic Club but just fell short. His history in this major isn’t great, with his best finish a T11 in 2005 and he has just one other Top-20 showing. Still, he hits the ball straight and if he keeps that up, his second major could be in his pocket.

Ernie Els (+4,000) has some excellent history on his side and he’s having a very solid season. Els won the 2002 Open Championship at Muirfield and Royal Lytham & St. Annes has been very kind to him. He had a T3 in 2001 and a T2 in 1996. He has four Top 10s on the PGA Tour including a T9 at the U.S. Open and he’s been in the Top 10 five times in his last 11 starts worldwide.

Charl Schwartzel (+5,000) is getting some excellent odds this week. He has not made a lot of noise this year but he was around for the weekend in both majors and has not missed a cut in a major since the 2009 U.S. Open. This is a span of 11 consecutive made cuts in majors, including his win at the Masters in 2011. Over the stretch of these 11 majors, he has seven Top 20s, so expect him to be in the mix once again.

Recommended tournament win five pack at the Open Championship – All for 1 unit

Lee Westwood (+1,200)
Francesco Molinari (+2,500)
Graeme McDowell (+3,000)
Ernie Els (+4,000)
Charl Schwartzel (+5,000)

Record to date after 26 events: +32.1 Units

Sony Open -5 Units
Humana Challenge -6 Units
Farmers Insurance Open +22 Units
Waste Management Phoenix Open -5 Units
AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am -5 Units
Northern Trust Open -5 Units
Accenture Match Play +7.1 Units
Honda Classic -5 Units
WGC-Cadillac Championship -5 Units
Transitions Championship +6 Units
Arnold Palmer Invitational -4 Units
Shell Houston Open +16 Units
The Masters -6 Units
RBC Heritage -5 Units
Valero Texas Open -4 Units
Zurich Classic of New Orleans +21 Units
Wells Fargo Championship +36 Units
THE PLAYERS Championship -5 Units
HP Byron Nelson Championship -5 Units
Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial +11 Units
The Memorial -5 Units
FedEx St. Jude Classic -5 Units
U.S. Open -5 Units
Travelers Championship -5 Units
AT&T National -5 Units
Greenbrier Classic -5 Units
John Deere Classic +8 Units