A fifth major - but not in the US

[Mark_Rowlinson]

I'm not obsessed with tennis, although I enjoy watching television coverage of the grand slam events, and its matchplay formula is discussed in another thread. But its majors are held in Australia, France, England and America. As it happens these are held at the same venue each year, as with Augusta and the Masters and no other golfing major. Suppose the golfing gods were to grant us a fifth major, but stipulated that America (with three) already had enough, and, therefore, that it must be played somewhere else. Where would that be? Australia may have suitable host courses, but would the professionals give up their winter non-competitive break to participate? Canada might have appropriate courses, but is that simply an extension of the (US) PGA Tour? China would undoubtedly build another 12 courses at Mission Hills to compete for the honour, but have they enough golfing celebrities left after whom to name their courses? Korea seems to be churning out amazing golfers by the minute (or is that only ladies?). India is prospering, at least in the unintelligible call-centre market, and could probably build an appropriate stadium course in Mumbai (why can't we call it Bombay any more?) with assistance from the local BMW franchise. Or, actually, is there so much money in rain forest destruction that we might consider a major in the Amazon jungle?

OK, I'm being silly. But why should the Players' Championship be seen as the Fifth Major? Would it be better to expand golf and golf tours elsewhere for the greater good of golf worldwide?

[Kalen Braley]

Mark,

Its a great question....and I would agree, we should have another major in mainland Europe somewhere.

As for The Players, its really a simple answer....year and year out, it statistically has the best field according to world ranking of players who show up, even more so than the other 4 majors, especially when compared to The Masters.  I still find it baffling how the one tournament, with the most amount of the best players in the world, all get together.....and its NOT even a major.

[John Kavanaugh]

Majors are created by golf writers. We need another great writer before we can have a 5th major. Anybody catch Twitter during the US Open, clever fellas.

[Matthew Essig]

I could see there being a fifth major.

"The World PGA championship"
or
"The World Open"

The venues would rotate every year to 8 countries/areas:
1. South Africa/other parts of Africa
2. Australia/New Zealand
3. Canada/Mexico
4. Scandinavia/Iberian Peninsula/Russia
5. Rest of Europe
6. United Arab Emirates/India/Southeast Asia
7. China/Japan/South Korea
8. South America/Caribbean/Central America

[Tom_Doak]

I could see there being a fifth major.

"The World PGA championship"
or
"The World Open"

The venues would rotate every year to 8 countries/areas:
1. South Africa/other parts of Africa
2. Australia/New Zealand
3. Canada/Mexico
4. Scandinavia/Iberian Peninsula/Russia
5. Rest of Europe
6. United Arab Emirates/India/Southeast Asia
7. China/Japan/South Korea
8. South America/Caribbean/Central America

Matthew:

I like your idea, except that those different sites would require that the tournament be played at different times of the year, and it's hard to get an event that keeps moving around recognized as a major.

The more obvious choice is for the fifth major to be the Olympic golf tournament.  It's only once every four years, so it wouldn't mess with the lifetime totals too much.  I really think that is the main argument against a fifth major now ... that it would skew the record book that Nicklaus established.  Which is funny, because Jack was always chasing Jones' record of 13 major championships, and in that pursuit he was happy to count five tournaments -- including his U.S. Amateur victories -- against Jones' four.

[Matthew Essig]

I could see there being a fifth major.

"The World PGA championship"
or
"The World Open"

The venues would rotate every year to 8 countries/areas:
1. South Africa/other parts of Africa
2. Australia/New Zealand
3. Canada/Mexico
4. Scandinavia/Iberian Peninsula/Russia
5. Rest of Europe
6. United Arab Emirates/India/Southeast Asia
7. China/Japan/South Korea
8. South America/Caribbean/Central America

Matthew:

I like your idea, except that those different sites would require that the tournament be played at different times of the year, and it's hard to get an event that keeps moving around recognized as a major.

The more obvious choice is for the fifth major to be the Olympic golf tournament.  It's only once every four years, so it wouldn't mess with the lifetime totals too much.  I really think that is the main argument against a fifth major now ... that it would skew the record book that Nicklaus established.  Which is funny, because Jack was always chasing Jones' record of 13 major championships, and in that pursuit he was happy to count five tournaments -- including his U.S. Amateur victories -- against Jones' four.

I hadn't thought about that... But the Olympics won't be the "fifth major" because being an Olympic gold medalist will never be matched by being a major champion, in my opinion.

[Garland Bayley]

The idea I have put forth several times is a World Tour Championship. PGA, Euro, Japan, AustralAsia, SoAfrica tours combine to move it across four regions. 1 year US, 1 year Europe, 1 year Asia or Australia/NZ, 1 year So. America/Africa or Australia/NZ When in northern hemisphere takes the date of the TPC in May, When in the southern hemisphere it could be Oct., i.e. after the PGA and FedEx.

[Mark Johnson]

From a practical perspective, to really be a 5th major, you would need to get a major-like field.

- at least 48 of the top 50 players
- at least 80 of the top 100

Based on the way players schedule, it would need to be a WGC events (since both PGA and Euro players get official $$ credit for playing in the event.)

Personally, I would love the see the match play event built up a bit more and put on a non-target golf course.    I think this events (maybe moved to a linksy euro club)  could be the most practical choice.   

[Sam Morrow]

It would need to be a 6th major, the real 5th major is next week in Nebraska.

[mike_beene]

It must be the Australian Open. A national championship in a great golf nation( perhaps the greatest) with plenty of home grown talent and interest.

[Mike_Clayton]

Mike,

I would love to agree with you about Australia but moving something around the world would be better. They key is not to sell out to any region/course that wants to buy it a la the European Ryder Cup venue scenario.
it could come down here ever 4-5 years but it should also be in mainland Europe, South Africa and Japan.  The question is where would you play? Chantilly,Durban Hirono?

Having said that, the Australian Open tennis is a great event - and Royal Melbourne would be an ideal venue.

[Scott Warren]

September would be a great month in Australia, in South Africa, anywhere in Europe... With a September window, the event could move around the globe and still have a set date.

[Mark_F]

September would be a great month in Australia, in South Africa, anywhere in Europe... With a September window, the event could move around the globe and still have a set date.

Scott,

The problem with September is that the Sandbelt courses are very ragged, having just come out of Winter. I assume that is also the case with the NSW courses? 

The Majors are played at the ideal time for course preparation - it is just unfortunate that two out of the four shouldn't be regarded as Majors.

[Scott Warren]

I'm predicting he means the PGA and Masters. But Mark is nothing if not surprising, so he's probably referring to the two Opens!

[Rich Goodale]

To answer your first question, Mark, The Players is the best candidate for the "5th Major" (assuming that one wants one) simply because it has easily the best field of any tournament ("Major" or not).

As to the second question, all other things being equal it would be nice to have a 5th major in China or Brazil or Zimbabwe or Australia or Tonga or wherever, but how would you get the best players in the world to come there?  The Aussie Open is played often on one of the best courses in the world, but nobody comes to play.  Why?  Well, because until we perfect teleportation it will be a BITCH to get from anywhere civilsed to the Antipodes! (insert BIG smiley face for oversensitive Antipodeans here....).

Golf has developed very separately than other individual sports, including tennis, for very good reasons.  We should accept that.

[Tom_Doak]

To answer your first question, Mark, The Players is the best candidate for the "5th Major" (assuming that one wants one) simply because it has easily the best field of any tournament ("Major" or not).

As to the second question, all other things being equal it would be nice to have a 5th major in China or Brazil or Zimbabwe or Australia or Tonga or wherever, but how would you get the best players in the world to come there?  The Aussie Open is played often on one of the best courses in the world, but nobody comes to play.  Why?  Well, because until we perfect teleportation it will be a BITCH to get from anywhere civilsed to the Antipodes! (insert BIG smiley face for oversensitive Antipodeans here....).

Golf has developed very separately than other individual sports, including tennis, for very good reasons.  We should accept that.

Because golfers are wimps who don't want to travel the way tennis players do?  The tennis players LOVE going to Paris and Melbourne.  The golfers don't want to leave freaking Orlando.

BTW, I don't accept that the field for the Players Championship is as good as it's cracked up to be.  Its claim is based on the world rankings, whose point system is more than a bit US-centric, having been developed by Americans.

[Mark Bourgeois]

For another major to be added somewhere in the world you'd need a global or at least international organization with legitimacy to stamp its imprimatur.

It would have to be the R&A but there's a simple if semantic reason the R&A likely never will add a major: it would have to change the name / demote the Open Championship. Right now it sees its own tournament as a world championship, not limited to a mode of play such as links golf or to a country / region.

Seen from that perspective, there is and can be only one "major."

Incidentally, the removal of such a designation is how the US Open in tennis became a major. Previously there were three "majors" (and no, the Aussie wasn't one of them) each designated some sort of "world championship." (Hardcourt/indoor, grass, clay.) The USTA agreed to have its tournament included only after the International Lawn Tennis Federation, the arbiter of these things, dropped "world" from the tournament names.

Tom Doak, I don't know about tennis players loving to travel to Melbourne. The tennis Australian Open usually has the weakest fields of the Grand Slam and back when they held the tournament in December droves of players stayed away. I'm not certain but I think Borg for example played in it only as a teenager. He resolved to go only if he had a chance to win the Slam. The US Open killed that.

Moving it to January had a big impact: anyone with hopes of a Grand Slam now *has* to go.

[Mark_F]

The Majors are played at the ideal time for course preparation - it is just unfortunate that two out of the four shouldn't be regarded as Majors.

Controversial - which two?

Brian,

Scott is correct - PGA and Masters.  The Opens are at least the championships of golf's governing bodies.  The Masters is an exhibition event, a tawdry tool originally birthed to enable a fledgling yet already foundering club to sell memberships. It exists currently for no other reason than for the club to perpetuate the mystique of being the most desirable and exclusive membership in golf.  That one of the most important championships in golf is no different to a car boot sale is scandalous.  

The PGA shouldn't be a Major because nobody gives a stuff about club pros anymore, the event has no identity or dignity and it is played mostly on courses of little architectural pedigree. It is really no different than your run of the mill PGA yawnfest tour stop, except it is more expensive for the punters to get into.  

As to the second question, all other things being equal it would be nice to have a 5th major in China or Brazil or Zimbabwe or Australia or Tonga or wherever, but how would you get the best players in the world to come there?

Rich,

Not too sure about Zimbabwe - the prizemoney would be worthless by the time the winner arrived at the airport, and if a white person won it, it would be confiscated and handed to a black man anyway.  As to how to get the best players to attend, simple - if they are qualified to play in a major and don't, then they can't play in any the following year.

[Dónal Ó Ceallaigh]

I hope I don't live to see a 5th major. Once we get a 5th, a 6th will soon follow and it'll end up like boxing (or ladies golf where I can't name all the majors) where they have the WBO, WBA, IBF, WBC, XYZ, etc..

I don't like the fact that there are 3 majors in the US, but the status quo is preferable to a free-for-all where you have several organising committees proclaiming that their tournament is the next major.

While the Players' Championship may have the best field, I don't think that's reason enough to call it the 5th major, but then again what is a good reason for calling a tournament a major? There was a lot of talk about it being the 5th major in the 80s and 90s, but thankfully things have gone silent on that issue. We still see certain players (usually European) giving the tournament a miss when calendars are full, so their isn't a big push from the players to grant it major status.

In the 80s, many European players din't bother to play in the PGA. It was almost a "US Open - Mark 2" major. Much credit must go to the organisers for strengthening the field and differentiating it from the US Open. I much prefer to watch the PGA than the US Open.

In 20-50 years time, golf may be dominated by China and China will have the largest economy. If the Chinese decide that the 5th major will be in China, it's difficult to see how it will be stopped. The most likely model in my opinion, is a Masters type tournament, but with a more representative field.

Another thing to consider is the possibility that one of the existing majors loses its major status. The Western Open was once considered one of the majors (although I believe that term was not used at the time), but fell out of favour.

[Scott Warren]

Webb Simpson isn't playing at The Open...

[JC Jones]

Those damn family values.

[Rich Goodale]

To answer your first question, Mark, The Players is the best candidate for the "5th Major" (assuming that one wants one) simply because it has easily the best field of any tournament ("Major" or not).

As to the second question, all other things being equal it would be nice to have a 5th major in China or Brazil or Zimbabwe or Australia or Tonga or wherever, but how would you get the best players in the world to come there?  The Aussie Open is played often on one of the best courses in the world, but nobody comes to play.  Why?  Well, because until we perfect teleportation it will be a BITCH to get from anywhere civilsed to the Antipodes! (insert BIG smiley face for oversensitive Antipodeans here....).

Golf has developed very separately than other individual sports, including tennis, for very good reasons.  We should accept that.

Because golfers are wimps who don't want to travel the way tennis players do?  The tennis players LOVE going to Paris and Melbourne.  The golfers don't want to leave freaking Orlando.

BTW, I don't accept that the field for the Players Championship is as good as it's cracked up to be.  Its claim is based on the world rankings, whose point system is more than a bit US-centric, having been developed by Americans.

Hi Tom

Tennis players are both younger and more intelligent than golfers.  For proof, just check the demographics of this website.  Geezers like Tiger and Westwood won't travel unless guaranteed mucho dinero.  Is greed what you want to be the qualifying standard for "Majors?"

Rich

[Mark_F]

The tennis Australian Open usually has the weakest fields of the Grand Slam and back when they held the tournament in December droves of players stayed away.

The halcyon days of Johan Kriek, Roscoe Tanner and Guilermo Vilas - I remember them well. However, it has been at least a quarter of a century since the Aus Open was played in December, and I would submit that if in fact it does have the weakest field of the Grand Slams, it is because the tennis season has only just finished and many players are still carrying injuries.  It is the most difficult physically of all the tennis majors.  

It is interesting to note that the Aus Open is now more identified with being the Grand Slam of Asia Pacific, since they were so worried they were going to lose the event to Asia they rebranded it a few years ago.  

[Dónal Ó Ceallaigh]

To answer your first question, Mark, The Players is the best candidate for the "5th Major" (assuming that one wants one) simply because it has easily the best field of any tournament ("Major" or not).

As to the second question, all other things being equal it would be nice to have a 5th major in China or Brazil or Zimbabwe or Australia or Tonga or wherever, but how would you get the best players in the world to come there?  The Aussie Open is played often on one of the best courses in the world, but nobody comes to play.  Why?  Well, because until we perfect teleportation it will be a BITCH to get from anywhere civilsed to the Antipodes! (insert BIG smiley face for oversensitive Antipodeans here....).

Golf has developed very separately than other individual sports, including tennis, for very good reasons.  We should accept that.

Because golfers are wimps who don't want to travel the way tennis players do?  The tennis players LOVE going to Paris and Melbourne.  The golfers don't want to leave freaking Orlando.

BTW, I don't accept that the field for the Players Championship is as good as it's cracked up to be.  Its claim is based on the world rankings, whose point system is more than a bit US-centric, having been developed by Americans.

Hi Tom

Tennis players are both younger and more intelligent than golfers.  For proof, just check the demographics of this website.  Geezers like Tiger and Westwood won't travel unless guaranteed mucho dinero.  Is greed what you want to be the qualifying standard for "Majors?"

Rich

"more intelligent"     

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-cNlFTVSX4

[Rich Goodale]

To answer your first question, Mark, The Players is the best candidate for the "5th Major" (assuming that one wants one) simply because it has easily the best field of any tournament ("Major" or not).

As to the second question, all other things being equal it would be nice to have a 5th major in China or Brazil or Zimbabwe or Australia or Tonga or wherever, but how would you get the best players in the world to come there?  The Aussie Open is played often on one of the best courses in the world, but nobody comes to play.  Why?  Well, because until we perfect teleportation it will be a BITCH to get from anywhere civilsed to the Antipodes! (insert BIG smiley face for oversensitive Antipodeans here....).

Golf has developed very separately than other individual sports, including tennis, for very good reasons.  We should accept that.

Because golfers are wimps who don't want to travel the way tennis players do?  The tennis players LOVE going to Paris and Melbourne.  The golfers don't want to leave freaking Orlando.

BTW, I don't accept that the field for the Players Championship is as good as it's cracked up to be.  Its claim is based on the world rankings, whose point system is more than a bit US-centric, having been developed by Americans.

Hi Tom

Tennis players are both younger and more intelligent than golfers.  For proof, just check the demographics of this website.  Geezers like Tiger and Westwood won't travel unless guaranteed mucho dinero.  Is greed what you want to be the qualifying standard for "Majors?"

Rich

"more intelligent"     

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-cNlFTVSX4

"more" is a relative word....