Major Championships

[Ruari]

The Players Championship has long been referred to as the fifth major . . .

I'd like to see it move around more, rather than stick to one course. Then, to me, the TPC will be the 4th major.

It's not unknown for the pack to be shuffled. The Western Open used to be the '4th Major'. It was replaced by The MAsters. The key was Gene Sarazen's albatross (double-eagle) on 15 in 193X (1934? I'm probably wrong). That was 'the shot that echoed round the world' and it embedded The Masters in legend. Which was a shame for Tommy Armour, who won the Western in 1930 ( the year Jones won the Grand Slam) and was the first pro golfer to achieve the career Grand Slam.

[bigoak]

1. US Open. it's open to qualified golfers.
2. PGA it's open to qualified Pros.
3. Tournament Players got to qualify
4. British Open played on a field with no trees
5. Master's is like other invitationals. those who don't get invited make a good field for another pga tournament.

[MrKadash]

This isn't the question, but I can best answer by stating which major I would want to win if I could only win one. The Open at the Old Course.

[TheFush]

The British Open, Then the Majors, then the US. Open.

[Alex B]

A golfer can win every championship out there, but if he never wins The Masters, he will never be included on the list of great golfers.

So Harry Vardon (7 majors), Walter Hagen (11 majors), Bob Jones (13 majors including amateur events), and Lee Trevino (6 majors) weren't great golfers? Wow. News to me.

Personally, I'd go with this order: 1. Open 2. US Open 3. PGA 4. Masters As someone already said, the Masters is an invitational. The course is becoming a joke, the field is the weakest of the four, and all the "traditions" and "history" of the place are overrated.

[Dragonsrock]

The Open Championship
US Open
Masters
PGA

The Masters used to be my favourite tournament, however, thats when Sunday meant Eagles, Birdies and charges from back in the field. Its just not the same any more!

[JaY_B]

1. US Open. it's open to qualified golfers.

Ehh what on earth are you piping on about.

[atrapasuenos]

I would like the Masters or the British Open.

Regards!

[Whiplash]

Personally, I'd go with this order:

I might Have US Open and PGA on a level field thought but THE Open way ahead and the Masters way behind

[Alex B]

Ben Hogan said 'I'll never be counted among the greats if I don't win this thing'.

Ben is the man. Nevertheless, I must question the veracity of some other assertions in this post.

Hogan never really wanted to play in the Open Championship before 1953. That year, in fact, several other prominent golfers, including friend Jimmy Demaret, had to beg him to compete in the Open; he handed in his entry form just a few hours before the deadline. So I don't think he ever would have said: "I'll never be counted among the greats if I don't win this thing." Maybe in retrospect, after he had won the title, he asserted that all great golfer win the Open or something, but not before his victory (as was implied by the "I'll" and "if" in the quotation). Furthermore, Hogan never played in the PGA Championship from 1948 until 1960 (when the event had switched to a stroke-play format). I believe that his damaged body could not withstand the grueling 36-hole days of match play. So, he probably wasn't choosing the Open over the PGA. Anyway, this is way OT, but oh well. Source: James Dodson, Ben Hogan: An American Life

[Ruari]

Ben is the man. Nevertheless, I must question the veracity of some other assertions in this post.

I'll check the reference out but you're probably right - can't remember exactly where I got my quote from.

Yes, he did play only one and I believe he wasn't impressed with the prizemoney (you may be able to correct me!). But it is interesting that the only time the PGA was scheduled against the British Open, that was the year he played the Open. For that, we owe home a debt of gratitude - so does the world of golf, IMHO.

[ganjagolfer]

us open # 1, british open i won't even consider until they have green and not brown grass

[Ruari]

us open # 1, british open i won't even consider until they have green and not brown grass

I guess you can't have watched since the 2006 Open at Royal Liverpool (which isn't in Liverpool - we do that sort of thing for fun!). It was very sunny and not much rainfall that year; it wasn't sunny at Carnoustie last year and the first three days at Birkdale this year weren't even on nodding acquaintance with the sun - as some posters to these pages have noted...

the greens were lush and verdant. Unless something you had consumed had affected your colour perception...

[Alex B]

I guess you can't have watched since the 2006 Open at Royal Liverpool (which isn't in Liverpool - we do that sort of thing for fun!). It was very sunny and not much rainfall that year; it wasn't sunny at Carnoustie last year and the first three days at Birkdale this year weren't even on nodding acquaintance with the sun - as some posters to these pages have noted...

The greens were indeed green for 71 holes at the 2006 Open... until the 72nd green turned purple (

http://sports.espn.go.com/golf/briti...ory?id=2527860 ). Yeah, and you're right, part of what makes the Open so unique for American fans is the brown greens, unpredictable weather, links layouts, and other things not normally seen here in the States.

[Ruari]

The greens were indeed green for 71 holes at the 2006 Open... until the 72nd green turned purple .

Thank goodness someone else noticed! I thought it was a flashback...

[David in FL]

Time to revive an old thread in honor of this week. The Masters for me. The opportunity to be part of this extraordinary week for the rest of my life trumps all other options! Edited to fix my poor punctuation. Thanks Barney!

[jamo]

U.S. Open for me. Masters second, British third, PGA last. So not really breaking the mold with those picks.

[Golfingdad]

The opportunity to be part of this extraordinary week for the rest of my life trumps all other options?

Ron Bur-gun-dy???? Is that you??

And, actually, now that you mention the lifetime thing, I'm tempted to say Masters first as well ... but my gut has always been the same as @jamo 's (there's a joke in there somewhere) so I say:

US Open

Masters

British Open

PGA Championship