Majors

The Major Championships, often referred to simply as the "Majors" are the four most prestigious annual tournaments in men's professional golf. The "majors" originally consisted of the The Open Championship or British Open, the British Amateur or The Amateur Championship,the US Open and the US Amateur. Bobby Jones (golf) completed the Grand Slam in 1930 when he won all four tournaments. It is difficult to determine when this changed to include the current four tournaments. It may have occured as a result of heightened media coverage during the 1950's.

Related Topics:
Golf - The Open Championship - The Amateur Championship - US Open - US Amateur - Bobby Jones (golf) - Grand Slam

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The oldest of the majors is The Open Championship, which is often referred to in the United States as "The British Open". The other three majors all take place in the United States. The Masters is played at the same course, Augusta National Golf Club, every year, while the other three rotate courses. Each of the majors has a distinct history, and they are run by four different golfing organisations, but they are all recognized as official events of the world's two most prestigious men's tours, the PGA TOUR and the PGA European Tour. In order of their playing date the majors are:

Related Topics:
The Open Championship - United States - Augusta National Golf Club - Tours - PGA TOUR - PGA European Tour

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• April - The Masters
• June - US Open
• July - The Open Championship
• August - PGA Championship

Alongside the biennial Ryder Cup and President's Cup team competitions, the majors are golf's marquee events. Elite players from all over the world participate in them, and the reputations of the greatest male players in golf history are largely based on the number of major victories they accumulate. The top prizes are not actually the largest in golf, being surpassed by The Players Championship, the three individual World Golf Championships events, and one or two invitational events, but winning a major boosts a player's career far more than winning any other tournament. If he is already a leading player, he will probably receive large bonuses from his sponsors and may be able to negotiate better contracts. If he is an unknown he will immediately be signed up. Perhaps more importantly, he will receive an exemption from the need to annually requalify for a tour card on his home tour. Currently the PGA Tour gives a five-year exemption to all major winners, thus giving a tournament golfer some security in an unstable profession.

Related Topics:
Ryder Cup - President's Cup - The Players Championship - World Golf Championships

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In recent years The Players Championship, which takes place two weeks before The Masters, has been begun to be boosted as, "The fifth major" by elements of the media. This has not been publicly encouraged by the golfing authorities, but the tournament does attract much the same strength of field as the majors. In addition, three World Golf Championship events were established in 1999, bringing to eight the total number of events in which virtually all of the world's top few dozen players compete against other every year.

Related Topics:
The Players Championship - World Golf Championship

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Majors: Major championship winners ►