Tiger Woods (USA) (7-1): That he’s the favorite is a given…but to what degree? Uncertainty about his surgically repaired knee and limited preparation are legitimate.  We likely won’t know until Thursday afternoon – or later – just  how much he’s got in the tank.

Phil Mickelson (USA) (9 -1): It’s the event he wants the most, played on the closest thing he has to a home course.  He’s in reasonably good form (winning three weeks ago at Colonial) and, with four 2nds in the last nine years (and seven top 10s overall) his game apparently translates to Open conditions pretty well.  Not likely he’ll get a better chance than this.

Sergio Garcia (Spain) (13-1): Is it now?  Or is it now or never?  With a win at the Players Championship, his confidence must be high, and his ball-striker’s game would seem a good fit for the Open – though he’s only managed a pair of top 10s in eight previous starts.  Hasn’t played in San Diego since 2006.

Geoff Ogilvy (Australia) (13-1): One of the few top-of-the-board men entered who’s proven he can win an Open and, after a slow 2008 start, has been playing well since early March.  After beating Tiger (and everyone else) at Doral, he seems  just one more big win away from pushing Mickelson for the top spot among mortals.

Padraig Harrington (Ireland) (15-1): The reigning British Open champion seems a popular pick this week – though his T4 last week in Memphis was, by far, his best finish on either side of the Atlantic since the Masters.  His steady game does seem well-suited to the Open, however, as four top 10s in his last eight starts indicate.

Jim Furyk (USA) (16-1): Which is more relevant, the fact that Furyk tied for 2nd at both Winged Foot and Oakmont or, more in the present, that he hasn’t bettered a T27 at the Players Championship since the first week of May?  Like Ogilvy, he’s proven he can win this thing…

Trevor Immelman (South Africa) (20 -1): The Masters champion isn’t getting enough love from the oddsmakers.  True he struggled mightily through his post-Augusta hangover, but this is a borderline-elite player who returned to form with last weekend’s playoff loss at Memphis.  Missed the 2006 San Diego cut in his only previous professional Torrey Pines appearance, but is a different player today.

Vijay Singh (Fiji) (22 -1): At age 45, he seems to be slowly edging onto the downside, but…  He’s got the requisite length, he’s played some reasonably good golf in 2008 (recording four top 5s in five starts from mid-February through mid-March) and he’s got more Major experience than most.

Luke Donald (England) (23-1): Some highly knowledgeable on-site sources are telling me that shorter hitters will have absolutely zero chance this week, which doesn’t bode well for the artistic Donald.  His last two starts have been encouraging, however: A T3 at the E Tour’s strong-field BMW PGA and a T6 at Memorial.  Tied for 2nd at Torrey Pines in both 2004 (in a playoff) and ’05, so maybe…

Adam Scott (Australia) (23-1): Very little lines up favorably for the world’s number three ranked player this week.  He’s nursing a broken finger, his form has been up-and-down (though he did log a late April win at the Byron Nelson) and he’s the rare player in the field never to have competed in the San Diego Open.  Oh yeah, he’s also missed four cuts in six prior Open starts, and never finished better than T21.  So perhaps it’s finally his time.

Ernie Els (South Africa) (25-1): On past record alone.  The Big Easy’s recent struggles have been much-chronicled, including six missed cuts in his last eight worldwide starts – though a T6 at the Players Championship (where he actually had a chance to win) might represent a seed.  On paper, he’s more like 60-1…but the great ones have ways of lifting their games when it really matters.

Boo Weekley (USA) (26-1): Okay, so he hardly fits the psychological profile of the tough, grizzled, calculating U.S. Open winner, but the world’s 27th-ranked player possesses the sort of tee-to-green game that is particularly well-suited to golf’s toughest test.  Slipped for several weeks after successfully defending his title at the Heritage, but a T4 last week at Memphis suggests a return to form.

Justin Rose (England) (27 -1): Like Adam Scott, Rose is another world top 10 (#6) who would not appear to be trending well coming in – save for a sudden tie for 2nd at the Memorial two weeks back.  Before that, it was three straight MCs worldwide and a WD (after an opening 76) at the Heritage.  Bright sign: He has two top 10s in only three U.S. Open starts.

Stewart Cink (USA) (28-1): Cink was red-hot (though winless) a couple of months back, logging three straight top 3s at stroke play and seven top 10s overall – sort of like his U.S. Open record, which saw three top 10s between 1998-2001, then nothing better than a T15 (plus three MCs) since.

Retief Goosen (South Africa) (29-1): Like his countryman Els, Goosen is a two-time champion whose presence must always be respected here.  He showed signs of returning to his former world-top-5 form when he contended late at Doral, but has since slipped again, his best subsequent start being a T17 at the Masters.  It won’t help that he’s never played here before.

Justin Leonard (USA) (33 -1): Last week’s winner has generally enjoyed a strong 2008, and has won a Major championship (the 1997 British Open) previously.  A common thought is that he’s too short to win this week; this might be true, but he finished 5th at January’s Buick Invitational, so…

K.J. Choi (Korea) (37-1): A hot player on the West Coast who has cooled considerably since, with two MCs and a T53 in his last three starts.  The Open is also the only Major in which he hasn’t logged a single top 10 finish – but his overall talent level cannot be ignored.

Stephen Ames (Canada) (38-1): An interesting darkhorse pick.  The skilled 44-year-old late-bloomer has been playing well, taking 5th at the Players Championship and 4th at Colonial.  Further, he’s finished among the top 10 in two of three Open starts since 2004.  On the downside, he’s missed his last three cuts at the Buick…

Mike Weir (Canada) (40-1): A tie for 2nd two weeks ago at the Memorial was the 2003 Masters champion’s first top 10 since the season-opening, short-field Mercedes Championship, but…  He seems to be trending upward, and he thrice finished among the top 6 in his last five Open starts.

Robert Allenby (Australia) (42-1): This veteran Aussie is coming off a sudden-death loss in Memphis (his first-ever playoff defeat) and has enjoyed a solid American season (including three top 10s) since January.  Unfortunately, his U.S. Open record (only one top 10, against five MCs, in 10 starts) does little to inspire confidence.