Majors, who decides?

[Bunkermagnet]

Who decides what events are majors?
Obviously The Open and US Open speak for themselves, but the Masters and USPGA? Why not the PGA over here?

 

[User62651]

Who decides what events are majors?
Obviously The Open and US Open speak for themselves, but the Masters and USPGA? Why not the PGA over here?

It's all a bit vague how the current 4 came to be the most prestigious and just evolved over time.

Majors History (from wikipedia)

The majors originally consisted of two British tournaments, The Open Championship and The Amateur Championship, and two American tournaments, the U.S. Open and the U.S. Amateur. With the introduction of the Masters Tournament in 1934, and the rise of professional golf in the late 1940s and 1950s, the term "major championships" eventually came to describe the Masters, the U.S. Open, the Open Championship, and the PGA Championship. It is difficult to determine when the definition changed to include the current four tournaments, although many trace it to Arnold Palmer's 1960 season. After winning the Masters and the U.S. Open to start the season, he remarked that if he could win the Open Championship and PGA Championship to finish the season, he would complete "a grand slam of his own" to rival Bobby Jones's 1930 feat. Until that time, many U.S. players such as Byron Nelson also considered the Western Open and the North and South Open as two of golf's "majors,"[5] and the British PGA Matchplay Championship was as important to British and Commonwealth professionals as the PGA Championship was to Americans.

During the 1950s, the short-lived World Championship of Golf was viewed as a "major" by its competitors, as its first prize was worth almost ten times any other event in the game, and it was the first event whose finale was televised live on U.S. television. The oldest of the majors is The Open Championship, commonly referred to as the "British Open" outside the United Kingdom. Dominated by American champions in the 1920s and 1930s, the comparative explosion in the riches available on the U.S. Tour from the 1940s onwards meant that the lengthy overseas trip needed to qualify and compete in the event became increasingly prohibitive for the leading American professionals. Their regular participation dwindled after the war years. Ben Hogan entered just once in 1953 and won, but never returned. Sam Snead won in 1946 but lost money on the trip (first prize was $600) and did not return until 1962.

Golf writer Dan Jenkins – often seen as the world authority on majors since he's attended more (200+) than anyone else – has noted that "the pros didn't talk much about majors back then. I think it was Herbert Warren Wind who starting using the term. He said golfers had to be judged by the major tournaments they won, but it's not like there was any set number of major tournaments."[6]

In 1960, Arnold Palmer entered The Open Championship in an attempt to emulate Hogan's 1953 feat of winning on his first visit. Though a runner-up by a stroke in his first attempt, Palmer returned and won the next two in 1961 and 1962. Scheduling difficulties persisted with the PGA Championship, but more Americans began competing in the 1960s, restoring the event's prestige (and with it the prize money that once again made it an attractive prospect to other American pros). The advent of transatlantic jet travel helped to boost American participation in The Open. A discussion between Palmer and Pittsburgh golf writer Bob Drum led to the concept of the modern Grand Slam of Golf.[7]

In August 2017, after the previous year's edition was scheduled earlier due to golf at the 2016 Summer Olympics, the PGA of America announced that the PGA Championship would be moved to late-May beginning in 2019, in between the Masters and U.S. Open. The PGA Tour concurrently announced that it would move the Players Championship back to March the same year,; as a result, the Players and the four majors will be played across five consecutive months

 

[jim8flog]

? Why not the PGA over here?

Not enough world class players in the field.

 

[Bunkermagnet]

Not enough world class players in the field.

Perhaps the answer there is not to play it the same time as something else that has importance?

 

[pogle]

Not enough world class players in the field.

Which comes first? The decision to deem it a Major, or the world class field?

 

[ab1v]

still think that there is room for another major. Would love to see a matchplay event become one. Maybe top 128 in world seeded knockout?

 

[jim8flog]

If there is going to be another comp declared as a major the pros vote would probably be for the TPC at Sawgrass, it has the best field of players for a comp that is not a major.

 

[Deleted member 23344]

The problem with adding another major, and the "powers that be" are aware of it, is that it has the potential to screw historical records; Jack's 18 wins. If there was to be another major added, it would probably be in Asia, given the huge size of the TV audiences and markets there. It shouldn't be in the US ... they already have more than their fair share.

 

[Smiffy]

The problem with adding another major, and the "powers that be" are aware of it, is that it has the potential to screw historical records; Jack's 18 wins. If there was to be another major added, it would probably be in Asia, given the huge size of the TV audiences and markets there. It shouldn't be in the US ... they already have more than their fair share.

Ditch the Micky Mouse Masters and introduce another one worthy of the "Major" title.