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Who are you picking at Royal Troon? That's all anyone wants to know this week. And rarely has the decision been more difficult, though you wouldn't know that based on how the CBS Sports golf writers made their calls.

The 2016 British Open field is loaded with stars who have already played tremendous golf this season, including a few who have notched important wins leading up to the third major of an extended season.

Let's not delay any further. Here's our picks for the 145th Open Championship.

Kyle Porter, golf writer

Winner: Sergio Garcia. Seven of the last nine Open winners have been 35 or older. Each major winner this season has been a first-timer. Garcia finished runner-up two years ago and T6 last year. He has nine (!) top 10s at the British Open in his career. It's all adding up for either the greatest week of his life or the most outstanding heartbreak Garcia fans have ever known.

Top 10 lock: Jason Day. His last 12 months have been astonishing, including seven wins in 20 events. He finished runner-up at this tournament last year and has the best combination of mental prowess plus physical tools in the sport right now. I would be stunned if he finished outside the top 10 and downright flabbergasted if he was outside the top 25.

Sleeper: Scott Piercy (100-1). Why the long odds? He has finished runner-up at the last two events which, if you have not been paying attention, were a major and a World Golf Championship. If Dustin Johnson did not exist, Piercy could be going for three straight wins at Royal Troon. He probably won't win, but 100-1 is far too high for somebody hitting it like he is right now.

Top 5, in order: Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood, Jason Day, Shane Lowry, Adam Scott

Surprise prediction: There will be more golfers in the top 10 over age 35 than under age 30. If the weather whips around, this could become an old man's game and course knowledge plus patience could reign. That's bad news for the Rory McIlroys and Justin Thomases of the world.

Lowest round: 65 (6 under)

Winning score: 273 (9 under)

Winner's Sunday score: 70 (1 under)

Robby Kalland, golf writer

Winner: Sergio Garcia. It's time for to break through. The way Garcia has played recently, coupled with his performances in recent British Opens (T2 and T6 the last two tries), makes me think this is the year. He was close at the U.S. Open and just recently won the HP Byron Nelson. Let's make this is the year of ending years of major sadness with back-to-back wins by Dustin Johnson and Sergio Garcia.

Top-10 lock: Jason Day. I'm not stepping out on a limb here with Day, but the man's finished in the top 10 in four of his last five events and was T4 last year at St. Andrews. I'd be shocked if he's not in one of the final few pairings on Sunday.

Sleeper: Marc Leishman (80-1). He has finished in the top five at the last two British Opens. The links style courses fit his eye and he knows how to handle bad weather. Look for him to be in contention come Sunday as well.

Top five, in order: Sergio Garcia, Jason Day, Marc Leishman, Adam Scott, Louis Oosthuizen

Surprise prediction: Ernie Els finishes higher than Dustin Johnson. The last time they played the British Open here, Els was in a playoff and lost to Todd Hamilton. He won a British as recently as 2012 and is playing excellent golf recently. Els has the ability to turn back the clock at the British Open, and I think he'll surprise with a strong showing, while Johnson will stumble a bit after back-to-back wins and finish below the Big Easy.

Lowest round: 66 (5 under)

Winning score: 274 (10 under)

Winner's Sunday score: 68 (3 under)

Adam Silverstein, golf editor

Winner: Jordan Spieth. Recency bias has Spieth ranked fourth in the odds entering Royal Troon. Here's why that's a joke: He's finished 4th or better in six of his last 10 majors and five of his last six. He was unimpressive at the U.S. Open but went T3 at WGC-Bridgestone two weeks ago and has all that early-season pressure off his shoulders. Enjoy your Spaniard; I'll take the American.

Top-10 lock: Jason Day. I did not want to make it a sweep here, but here's Day in the last six majors: T9, T4, 1, T10, T8. I'm not passing up those odds, even if Dustin Johnson is probably an equally good bet here.

Sleeper: Graeme McDowell (100-1). So I'm supposed to not take an Ulsterman who plays his best golf close to home? McDowell has two top-10s in the Open over the last four years and at 36 fits Kyle's older-man metric. And if I'm going to take a sleeper, he'll be 100-1 or better.

Top five, in order: Jordan Spieth, Danny Willett, Adam Scott, Jason Day, Justin Rose

Surprise predictions: I'm going to make two, because I'm feeling lucky and contrarian. First, Rickie Fowler will be in contention entering the weekend. That has not been the case for Fowler in a major since the 2015 Masters as he's been more likely to miss cuts than live up to the hot streak he pieced together in 2014. Second, Sergio Garcia will never be in serious contention. I'm not trying to be the ultimate hater here but literally -- and yes, I do mean literally -- everyone is taking Garcia to win at Royal Troon. (Cough, cough.) He's made 12 of his last 13 cuts at majors after missing one-third of major cuts from 2004-12. I'd go so far as to take him to miss the cut, but I feel that would be straight disrespectful considering how well he's played recently. Look, I'm not the guy who will play Don't Pass on a craps table, but I'm just not feeling it for Serge. Let me be wrong.

Lowest round: 65 (6 under)

Winning score: 275 (9 under)

Winner's Sunday score: 67 (4 under)