Rory McIlroy—Let's start with the defending champion. Yes, he's been hit or miss this year, and no one has successfully defended a U.S. Open title since Curtis Strange in 1989. But the kid has all the necessary talent and poise, and his recent work paid off with a contending performance in Memphis that was derailed by one swing. He'll put up a credible title defense. 

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Tiger Woods—We might as well stipulate that Tiger's the favorite heading into this year's Open. When we last saw him, he was giving us glimpses of vintage Tiger, winning the Memorial with what Jack Nicklaus called possibly the greatest shot he had ever seen. Woods renews his pursuit of Nicklaus' 18 majors in the same state where he won his last, the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines. Tiger will be eager to outshine his playing partners in rounds 1 and 2 — Phil Mickelson and Bubba Watson.

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Phil Mickelson—Speaking of Lefty, if we based this solely on desire, the tournament's over before it starts. Mickelson wants this tournament more than any other, having posted a record five runner-up finishes at our national championship. We're tempted to think this tournament owes him one, but he was last seen withdrawing from the Memorial citing fatigue, a somewhat troubling red flag. Tiger seems to bring out the best in him, so he could find himself in contention heading to the weekend.

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Lee Westwood—The consensus Best Player Without a Major, Westwood has a remarkable seven top-3 finishes in majors since 2008, including a T3 at the Open last year. He also had a T7 at the Open in 1998, proving that he knows his way around Olympic. He's coming off one of the most dominant performances of his career, a five-shot win on the European Tour. It just might be his time. 

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Luke Donald—No. 1 in the world but unloved and unappreciated, Donald could silence his doubters once and for all at Olympic. Doesn't seem likely, though — he's never posted a top 10 at a U.S. Open, and his lack of length would seem to rule him out at a monster track like Olympic. Still, he's likely to keep it in the fairway, and he's a good enough putter to hang around. 

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Dustin Johnson—You might think it's premature to include DJ on this list so soon after a prolonged injury absence. But he was so good on a tough track in Memphis, and he's so crazy long off the tee, that it wouldn't surprise us to see him on the leaderboard on Sunday. But winning's another matter; he's got some mental hurdles to clear after coming agonizingly close in other majors. 

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Matt Kuchar—Kooch had a T3 at The Masters, and he finished T14 in the 1998 U.S. Open at Olympic as an amateur. His ballstriking is as good as anyone's; he's third in scoring on Tour and 10th in greens in regulation. If he can get some putts to drop, he'll contend.  

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Bubba Watson—A Bubba Slam? Is it conceivable? Not really, but neither was a Watson win at Augusta (Bubba, not Tom). He'll show up at Olympic, pink driver in tow, ready to attack one of the toughest tracks in major championship history and steal some of the spotlight from playing partners Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. If nothing else, it'll be entertaining. 

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Ian Poulter may have poked a sleeping Tiger by announcing that Woods wouldn't finish in the top 5 at Augusta. "Poulter's always right, isn't he?" Tiger said. "My whole idea is to try to win the tournament. That's what I'm trying to do."

Defending Masters champ Mickelson fired a warning shot that should have everyone’s attention with his win at the Shell Houston Open, where he had a 63-65 weekend. Lefty gets up for this one unlike any other. A fourth green jacket would tie him with Arnold Palmer and Tiger Woods.

The Englishman ascended to No. 1 in the world late last year for the first time, only to lose the ranking to Martin Kaymer. He hasn't quite lived up to expectations in 2011, but he's posted top-3 finishes in four of his last five majors, including a runner-up at Augusta in 2010. The only thing missing from his resume is his first major championship. 

Last time they held a major, Kaymer came out on top, and he's since ascended to the top of the World Golf Ranking. The 2010 PGA champion and European Tour money leader has the game to win anywhere.

He has only two career top 10s at Augusta, but he seems to have turned a corner. He beat Kaymer 3 & 2 in the finals of the Accenture Match Play in February for the biggest win of his career. 

DJ has all the tools, but does he have the maturity to win amid the crushing Sunday pressure? He essentially blew two majors in 2010, and it remains to be seen if those failures will have any lingering effect. 

Is this America’s top player at the moment? His results in 2011 — a win and four top 10s in five tournaments — say yes. He’ll have the chance to prove it at The Masters.

The Georgia Tech alum was low amateur at Augusta way back in 1998 but truly emerged in 2010, and he always plays well in Georgia. He has six top 10s in eight events so far in 2011. 

Rory McIlroy has a very good chance to become the youngest winner of a major championship since a 21-year-old Tiger won the 1997 Masters. His torrid start on Thursday indicates that he’s in it to win it — if not this year, then soon.