Add a another major and drop the presidents cup

[jbishop15]

2 hours ago, DaveP043 said:

Like all statistics, the number of Majors a player wins is a way to compare careers from different eras.  I'd hate the comparison of Jack or Arnold or Ben to a player in the "new age" who has a chance to win a Major 5 times a year.  There's no doubt that the strength of field has changed, and will continue to do so, but to me that doesn't justify expanding the list of Majors.  Adding a 5th Major, simply because there are more good "deserving" players seems to be heading down the road to awarding "participation prizes" to everyone.  Good players don't "deserve" to be called a Major winner until they actually win a Major.

But they've already done that to the guys that played in the 20s, 30s, and 40s. Something like the Western Open was considered a major, until it wasn't, and a lot of major wins fell off people's resumés. 

Using majors to compare player's careers is kind of hard, considering you've got players like Peter Thomson, who won five British Opens when virtually no top-tier American players played (and the UK was still reeling from WWII). That puts him at 14th all-time, six spots of Ernie Els. Do we really think that Thomson was better than Els? Or even Raymond Floyd? 

And to say it's heading down the road to "participation prizes" isn't true, either, because adding a fifth major doesn't mean you have to add a sixth later, or a seventh, or whatever.

And, again, they're majors because we say they are. Augusta National is a tough course, but there are tougher regular event courses. The US Open is only a major because it's in the US, and because we're the biggest golfing nation on Earth (in terms of the PGA Tour influence on things, money-wise and the like). Many people sneer at the PGA being a lesser major. 

[DaveP043]

4 hours ago, jbishop15 said:

And to say it's heading down the road to "participation prizes" isn't true, either, because adding a fifth major doesn't mean you have to add a sixth later, or a seventh, or whatever.

My likening of a 5th major in that way was a response to the OP's reasoning, that more good players means more players should win a major each year.  I simply don't agree.  If The Players has truly become a "Major" in the eyes of the golfing community, that's the way winners there will be remembered.  But the LPGA added a "Major" a few years ago, not because it was such an impressive win, but to increase publicity, at least in my view.  Or maybe to get more LPGA players eligible for their Hall of Fame.  No matter what, it just seemed ill-advised to me.

[NJpatbee]

Four majors is fine and adding a 5th would dilute the accomplishment of winning one or more.  IMO, the anticipation and excitement at the current 4 majors is greater than any of the other pro tournaments.  

[Buckeyebowman]

I don't think you can just "designate" a fifth major, these things have to be grown organically! Yes, there's been a lot of talk about the TPC as a fifth major, but it hasn't happened has it? Yet, whoever wins that tourney gets a major boost to their career!

I suppose they could drop the President's Cup and I wouldn't care all that much. I'm all about the Ryder Cup!

[boogielicious]

On 12/30/2016 at 8:36 AM, DaveP043 said:

Like all statistics, the number of Majors a player wins is a way to compare careers from different eras.  I'd hate the comparison of Jack or Arnold or Ben to a player in the "new age" who has a chance to win a Major 5 times a year.  There's no doubt that the strength of field has changed, and will continue to do so, but to me that doesn't justify expanding the list of Majors.  Adding a 5th Major, simply because there are more good "deserving" players seems to be heading down the road to awarding "participation prizes" to everyone.  Good players don't "deserve" to be called a Major winner until they actually win a Major.

Agree. Many of the non-majors are becoming very important tournaments in their own right. I'd keep it that way. The Fed Ex Cup tournaments were a nice addition in my mind and it works with the players who are playing the best that year. The WGC tournaments are also gaining prominence as are some of the European Tour events.

If we added more majors, majors get diluted.

[DaveP043]

10 hours ago, Buckeyebowman said:

I don't think you can just "designate" a fifth major, these things have to be grown organically!

Yet the LPGA did exactly that.  Whether it was in gratitude to a major sponsor, a ploy to make more money, or to get more women eligible for the hall of fame, I don't know.  I don't know if its done what they wanted it to do, but it just seemed wrong to me at the time.

[Blackjack Don]

Nobody has commented on it, but there is a gap between the Masters and the US Open in May. There was a time when people thought Jack's Memorial tournament was going to become the fifth major, but that seems to have passed. I still think moving the PGA to May would be the best route to take. There needs to be a continuity with the majors. IMHO

[iacas]

On 12/29/2016 at 10:28 PM, DavidMatthew1978 said:

That is true, the last major added was the PGA Championship and that has been over 100 years.I think its time for one more. Too many great players out there.

The PGA began in 1916, I think, before Augusta National was even a dream. The Masters was the most recent addition.

I think the Presidents Cup isn't going anywhere. The PGA Tour owns it, unlike the Ryder Cup, and they make money from it. It'll stay.

I think the Players is just a good tournament. No need to designate it as a major. Golf is a game that respects its history, and for a loooong time now that history has been four majors.

[saevel25]

I voted no. 

Four majors is good enough. TPC Sawgrass is a gimmicky course.  It's a fun tournament to watch, but not a Major. 

[kiwi g]

I think in time,the presidents cup will grow to being closer in standing to the ryder cup.I dont think it will ever grow to being as big as the ryder cup.but for those of us who are outside of the states and europe,we look forward to it in the same way as you guys do the ryder cup.i also think the growth of the game down here in the southern hemisphere is going to make the presidents cup a lot more competitive.look at this years team,likely to include jason day,adam scott and hideki matsuyama amongst others. gives the "rest of the world" team a good chance.