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SANDWICH, England -- If the final leaderboard from 10 years ago is any indication, the British Open that begins at Royal St. George's on Thursday is wide open.

There was the power of winner Greg Norman. There was the precision of runner-up Nick Faldo, the top players of the day. Then came Bernhard Langer, a medium-length hitter, followed by Corey Pavin, one of the shortest hitters among all great golfers.

Tied for sixth were three players who would go on to win Open Championships themselves: Ernie Els, Nick Price and Paul Lawrie.

"I never played in a golf tournament that had as many great players in the world in contention,'' Norman said. "There were like 11 or 12 or 13 guys within four or five shots going into Sunday. And they were the top players in the world.''

The beauty of Royal St. George's is that it doesn't discriminate. Long, short, aggressive, conservative. All styles can compete.

"It's going to be patience, driving it accurate,'' said Sandy Lyle, who won the tournament here in 1985. "Distance is not going to be the No. 1 thing. It's going to be pretty much keep it in play, a lot of irons off the tee.

"The challenge of a links course can change by the hour out there because of the bounce. I look forward to playing the course, firm conditions. It's an old-style golf course.''

With that in mind, here is a look at some of the contenders to win the 132nd Open Championship.

The contenders
Tiger Woods	He is an overwhelming favorite with the bookmakers, but Woods' power advantage is greatly reduced here. Royal St. George's will require lots of irons off the tee with several blind shots to contend with. Woods has just three top-10s in his six British Opens as a pro, but you know he's determined to get this one, with all the talk of his going a whole four majors without winning one. Thursday tee time: 4:09 a.m. ET
Ernie Els	The defending champ is coming off a big win at the Scottish Open and, although he has not contended, has finished ahead of Woods in both majors this year. His power game is also negated, but the British is his most consistent major. He has seven top-10s and no finishes outside the top 30 since he turned pro. Ten years ago here, he tied for sixth as a 23-year-old unknown. Thursday tee time: 8:54 a.m. ET
Jim Furyk	The U.S. Open champion is a top-10 machine, and a stickler for details. He arrived in England last week and did his best to learn the quirky course. His precision should be a big plus at Royal St. George's. Thursday tee time: 9:16 a.m. ET
Mike Weir	The Masters champion has never contended at the British, making three cuts in four appearances, his best a tie for 37th in 1999 at Carnoustie. Weir, however, is coming off three straight top-three finishes and became just the seventh player in history to follow a Masters win with a top-three at the U.S. Open. Thursday tee time: 2:58 a.m. ET
David Toms	The 2002 PGA champ has quietly won twice this year and fought through a back injury, although he had a disappointing weekend when paired with Woods in the third round of the Western. Toms tied for fourth at St. Andrews three years ago, but blew up last year after an opening 67 at Muirfield and finished 83rd. Still, the last time Toms was in England, he shined at the Ryder Cup. Thursday tee time: 8:54 a.m. ET
Kenny Perry	Give the man his due. A middling career is suddenly looking pretty good with three victories in three of his last four starts, with a tie for third at the U.S. Open thrown in. The excitement of winning in Milwaukee by birdieing the last two holes, the long trip to England ... it might be too much. Amazingly, Perry has played in just one previous British Open, missing the cut in 1991 at Royal Birkdale. Thursday tee time: 4:20 a.m. ET
Vijay Singh	For all of his accomplishments, Singh has not been much of a factor at the British Open, with just one top-10 finish. Despite his weekend blowup at the U.S. Open, that tie for 20th remains his worst finish in his past nine events, which includes a victory. Thursday tee time: 7:32 a.m. ET
Nick Price	A sleeper with the bookies, Price might have one more run in him. He has four top-5s in his past five events and tied for sixth at Royal St. George's in 1993. Thursday tee time: 8:16 a.m. ET

Bob Harig covers golf for the St. Petersburg Times, and is a frequent contributor to ESPN.com. He can be reached at harig@sptimes.com