So there can only be 4 majors....

[Junior]

Following on from a thread last night . . . . .What should they be ???

US Open
Open Championship
Australasia Open
Masters

The Masters is the contentious one but I like the idea of a top 50 in the world style major.

 

[Dodger]

Following on from a thread last night . . . . .What should they be ???

US Open
Open Championship
Australasia Open
Masters

The Masters is the contentious one but I like the idea of a top 50 in the world style major.

I never understand why folk want the USPGA to be the fall guy.....it is the strongest Major of the lot.

I wouldn't get rid of any of the 4 as they are rightly Majors at the moment and should stay so.

There is in my opinion the need for a 5th to be held in Asia though.

 

[chris661]

There is in my opinion the need for a 5th to be held in Asia though.

Right now? Maybe not but absolutely in the the not too distant future.

 

[MegaSteve]

I never understand why folk want the USPGA to be the fall guy.....it is the strongest Major of the lot.

Can't quite see that... Quite a few US club/teaching pro's get to qualify... Hardly cream of the crop...

 

[GB72]

Agree that one in Australasia would seem logical but there is also an argument for one in the middle east as they are pumping so much money into the game.

I am all for tradition but 3 Majors in the US does not reflect how much of a global game golf is. Plus, if you have more Majors outside the US you may see the insular golfers on the PGA tour actually leaving The States and playing around the world

 

[Junior]

I never understand why folk want the USPGA to be the fall guy.....it is the strongest Major of the lot.

I wouldn't get rid of any of the 4 as they are rightly Majors at the moment and should stay so.

There is in my opinion the need for a 5th to be held in Asia though.

Agree there needs to be a major outside of the usa other than the open. Although i think the us open is a better major than the yspga. Stronger fields and usually tougher, more tricked up courses.

 

[CMAC]

I like the 4 we currently have but I certainly agree there is a requirement for a 5th and outside of the US...

we have the stunning immaculate course Major at the masters
the OPEN on a Links with everything thrown at you
the US Open on a tight parkland with real punishing rough
the uspga which I cant categorize as it always seems a completely different type of course each time

so the 5th needs to be on something eclectic if possible and in a region that loves golf or it could dwindle before it takes off with poor attendance

 

[shewy]

We kind of have other majors,they are called WGC'S

Leave it at 4, who calls it a major anyway? Whats the qualifying criteria?

 

[USER1999]

The open, the us open, the uspga and the Australian open. Sorted.

 

[LanDog]

The open, the us open, the uspga and the Australian open. Sorted.

You can't get rid of the Masters in my opinion it's the best of the Majors. Full of history and nostalgia, and a great exclusive course to boot!

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Can't quite see that... Quite a few US club/teaching pro's get to qualify... Hardly cream of the crop...

No different to the Open. My old club pro managed to qualify twice in the 70's. Personally I dislike the Masters as a major as it's invitational and so not necessarily the strongest field. That said for all the tradition etc I'd keep it in but there should be something else added to recognise the game globally. Even the majority of the WGC (if not all - can't remember) events are US based. The Autralian Open would seem a strong contender as that has a huge tradition already OK I granted a lot of that is home spun but even so, its there where as an Asian event is surely going to be seen as just another event for many years until it can grow its own identitiy

 

[Imurg]

The Masters is a fabulous event. If it was de-Majored, it would still be a fabulous event.
No reason to not have it but for me it isn't as "Major" as the others.
It's an Invitational event. Yes there is a qualifying criteria but you still have to be invited. If Luke annoyed the Augusta Committee enough he wouldn't get an invite regardless of whether he'd qualified.
They fail to show a large chunk of it on tv and there are many other issues with the way Augusta is run.
It has the least History/Heritage of all the others.
Play it as an event in the same way every year but it's not in the same league as the others

 

[MegaSteve]

No different to the Open. My old club pro managed to qualify twice in the 70's.

Apologies Homer... I beg to differ... For the USPGA there are [twenty I believe] guaranteed spaces for 'club' pro's qualifying via their own national c'ship... If a club pro makes it to The Open he needs to have done so via going into the 'melting pot' that The Open qualifying is...

 

[Doon frae Troon]

Landog....History?.....started in the 1920's. Modern history perhaps.

 

[USER1999]

Given the history, the cudos, the beauty, the sheer oddness of the event, people would still watch, and want to play the masters, even if it wasn't a major. It just shouldn't be. The fourth major should be the Aussie open. It has more going for it, and it is mainly links.

 

[LanDog]

Well more tradition than history. But if you take away it's 'Major' status then it would defeat its majesty would you have discount all of the times that Nicklaus, Palmer, Player, Tiger have one it and demote them to just regular tour wins? I think that it has to stay

 

[USER1999]

Why would you have to demote previous wins? Times change, things move on. The masters has the least to lose out of the current four. All the majors should be opens, not invitationals.

 

[muttleee]

I wonder if people before the Masters was born said there could only be 3 majors?

 

[the_scrambler]

There is absolutely no justification for The Masters to continue to be crowned a major because of its invitational criteria. That is not to say this fantastically-run tournament should not continue to be one of the 'must-plays' on the 'world' tour. As such it should receive reduced ranking points more befitting of non-major status.

I would replace The Masters with the PGA Tour flagship event (much as I hate that 17th at Sawgrass not to mention little Timmy! (lol)). There is no denying the pga tour is still the number one tour in the world (just!) and, as such, its flagship event ought to be accorded appropriate recognition of major status.

As the game has gone global, clearly one other major has to be dropped from the '4 major rota'. Regretfully, this would have to be the PGA (of America) event. Once the tournament professionals broke away from the PGA of America to form the PGA Tour it, effectively, became redundant in major status terms.

Now, where to place a fourth major which would more in keeping with the global nature of the game today? I think the australians have waited quite long enough and it should 'homed' there.

 

[the_scrambler]

Well more tradition than history. But if you take away it's 'Major' status then it would defeat its majesty would you have discount all of the times that Nicklaus, Palmer, Player, Tiger have one it and demote them to just regular tour wins? I think that it has to stay

This is not the case at all. After all Bobby Jones's tally of majors still includes US and (British) Amateur Championships even though those events don't count as majors today.