Acro s the rolling lands andbattered shores of Scotland, The Old Course at St. Andrews is set to host the 2015 Open Championshipas golfreturns to its ancestral home.Jordan Spieth headlines the field with World No. 1 Rory McIlroy sidelined because of injury. Spieth won last week's John Deere Cla sic in a thrilling playoff, and has won four times already this season.MORE: | Spieth continues his quest for the grand slam this week with the first two majors already in hand. But he will have his hands full even with McIlroy absent.Rickie Fowler birdied three of his last four holes last week to claimthe Scottish Open crown, Andy Janovich Jersey after already proving to everyone he belongs among the game's elite with his monumental charge at the Players Championship. Fowler leads a host of other contenders looking to thwart Spieth and his newfound reign over golf.Here are this week's top players (in order of projected finish):Jordan Spieth (World Golf Ranking: 2) It's hard to pick against Spieth these days. At times, over his past two events, he's appeared to struggle with his game. But that's made no difference. He continues to win, and he seems to have gained a mental edge over the rest of the field we haven't seen since a certain red-clad Tiger was prowling the fairways at his peak.Henrik Stenson (7) Stenson has battled sickne s and an inconsistent putter in 2015, but with four top-fives in his past eight majors,he's beenone of the most consistent competitors in major championships over the past few years, which shouldn't be overlooked. He seems to be the forgotten man heading into the week, but he craves his first major.The Open seems like his best bet to cash in.Rickie Fowler (5) Fowler onceagain came from behind to win a big tournament last week at the Scottish Open. Chambers Bay aside, Fowler has fared well on links and links-style courses in recent seasons, so he shouldn't have any problems here. A potential Fowler/Spieth showdown has everyone buzzing.Adam Scott (11) Scott is too young, 34, to be playing such a limited schedule, but it's worked out in the majors.He has 10 top-10s in the past five years at the game's top events, including a tie for fourth atthis year's U.S. Open. With Steve Williams back on the bag, Scott should be considered a favorite for the foreseeable future.Dustin Johnson (4) Oh Dustin, what can we say. On one hand, he's one of the most talented golfers on tour, but for all his natural gifts, the free-swinging 31-year-old has racked up a lot of heartbreak. We won't dwell too much on his Tytus Howard Jersey three-putt heard around the world at Chambers Bay he's suffered enough soinstead we'll just give the PGA an air-five for pairing him with Spieth for the first two rounds this week.Justin Rose (8) "Rosie" has been a bit inconsistent with his putterlately, which is a concern heading into a major. But with McIlroy out, and Spieth inexperienced overseas, he should feel like afavorite heading in. Rose does have a win and two runner-up finishes this year, so this could be his week.Matt Kuchar (15) It's been an uncharacteristically slow season for Kuchar, but he showed signs of life at the U.S. Openand finished second to Fowler last week at the Scottish Open. He should be able to take advantage of St. Andrews' abundance of short par-4s with his great wedge play and accuracy off the tee.Louis Oosthuizen (17) Oosthuizen won the Open Championship by seven shots when it was last played here in 2010. Granted, he did draw an overwhelmingly favorable draw with the weather, but he still had to hit the shots. The state of his game usually depends on how his back is feeling, so it's worth double-checking whetherhe's still at full health.Hideki Matsuyama (14) Matsuyama hasn't played since a tie for 18th at the U.S. Open, but a bit ofrest may have been good for the 23-year-old. Terrence Brooks Jersey The rhythmic swinger and putter has six top-10s and five top-fives already this year, and looks destined to win his firstcareer major soon.J.B. Holmes (13) Holmes will have a legitimate chance at driving four or five par-4s this week if the weather cooperates. He's that long off the tee, and this course is short in spots, but still, expectations should be tempered for a guy who's struggled in the majors throughout his career.Sergio Garcia (10) Garcia still only has two top-10s all year, yetnot much has been documented about his struggles. He was once considered the best player never to win a major, but fans seem to have concededthe fiery Spaniard is never going to get it done.Paul Casey (24) Not long ago, Casey was the third-ranked player in the world. Then, seemingly overnight, he dropped out of the top 100. The talented Englishman Houston Texans Women Jersey has six top-10s this year, including two playoff lo ses, and he could make some noise again this week.Bubba Watson (3) Watson won his first tournament of the year at the Travelers Championship a couple of weeks agoand followed that up with a solid tie for 13th at The Greenbrier. With that being said, Watson hasn't been very reliable in the majors lately. In fact, since his win at Augusta last year, Watson hasn't finished inside the top 35 in a major championship.Marc Warren (56) Warren shot an impre sive 6-under 64 on Sunday at the Scottish Open to climb into the top five. There isn't anything overpowering about his game, but J.J. Watt Jersey he's steady and can make birdies in bunches.Shane Lowry (45) The lumbering Irishman finished tied for ninth at the U.S. Open and looks like someone who could win a major soon. Now 28, Lowry has shot up the world rankings after being ranked 142nd at one point last year.Martin Kaymer (19) There would have been no reason to rank Kaymer a couple weeks ago, but after finishing fourth at the French Open, the German with two major titles could be peaking at the right time.Danny Lee (69) Lee has won and finished in a tie for third in the past two weeks. If not fatigued, it appears the 24-year-old may finally be ready to fulfill his immense potential. It sure looked like he and Spieth were feeding offeach other in the final round of the John Deere Cla sic. Could there be a competitive rivalry brewing?Brooks Koepka (22) Koepka has the lengthto completely overpower St. Andrews, and he's played well since tying for third at the FedEx St. Jude Cla sic. At 25, Koepka is one of the many young golfers vying for supremacy on tour.Tommy Fleetwood (47) With four top-10s, including one last week, Fleetwood, 24, is one of England's brightest stars regardle s of sport. His game seems well-rounded enough to one day compete on the PGA Tour, bu