A rocks and diamonds preview of the British Open

When Peter Thomson won the first of his five British Opens in 1954, he banked $120. The winner of the 143rd British Open at Royal Liverpool this week will collect $1.66million.

The prize money and the club and ball technology are the only sections of the oldest and most revered golf tournament in the world where there have been radical changes

The rest is all about tradition, tension, drama and the legends who have been born.

Phil Mickelson is the defending champion, who rates last year’s win as his major achievement among his five majors.

But the form golfer is Englishman Justin Rose, who has won his last two tournaments in the USA and in Scotland. And he knows how to win the big ones, with success last year at the US Open.

World number one Adam Scott will never forget the 2012 British Open, where he led by four shots with four holes to play but bogeyed the lot for Ernie Els to win by a shot.

Since then Scott has won the US Masters in a play-off with Angel Cabrera, and there’s little doubt that British Open experience steeled him to victory at Augusta.

Lee Westwood, Luke Donald, and Sergio Garcia are among the elite yet to win a major.

For Westwood (41), this will be his 20th British Open, where he’s only finished in the top 10 four times.

Donald (36) has had two top tens in 14 starts. Garcia (34) has been the best-performed of the talented trio with seven top 10s from 17 starts.

There will be seven Australians in the field, headed by Scott, Jason Day, John Senden, Brett Rumford and Matt Jones.

But the other two Australians – Rhein Gisbon, and Bryden Macpherson – are little known.

Gibson (29) is ranked 998 in the world, but fired in a 16-under 55 at River Oaks in Oklahoma in May 2012, a new world record. He qualified this time in Australia.

Macpherson (20) became only the second Australian to win the British Amateur since Doug Bachli in 1954.

I’ve left Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy until last.

Woods will be seeking his 15th major, but his first since the US Open in 2008 – 18 majors ago.

This will be only his second tournament in three months since back surgery. I give him no chance. But no doubt the bookies will install him as favourite – and I have no idea why.

But my pick to win the 143rd British Open is McIlroy, he is the only golfer in this field that can literally tear a links course apart.

There’s a downside to the little bloke from Northern Ireland, he’s just as capable of turning in an 80 as he did at the 2011 Masters in the final round, or a 78 as he did in Scotland last week after an opening-round course-record 64.

If he puts together four rounds, no-one can beat him. He can only beat himself.