Time for a Fifth Major

[RobotDoctor]

On 6/19/2021 at 9:22 AM, Hawkeye77 said:

Lots of first post, first thread "hot takes" lately.

 

And lol, we'll give Tiger two more majors and keep Jack where he's at.

 

Not even subtle . . .

 

And yep, pretty debatable --- PGA Championship and The Open Championship have stronger fields in some years using different metrics.  

 

When do the leaders tee off, lol?

Love the new troll accounts by apparent established members.  I would never do that because I have the guts to stand by what I post and don’t need to hide behind a troll account.  To me this is spineless. 

[jdl]

5 hours ago, MattyO1984 said:

What’s with the half hearted idea OP? Let’s just make them all majors. I mean does anyone dispute that Ted Potter Jnr winning the 2018 AT&T was any less of an accomplishment than Gary Woodland winning the US Open around the same course 15 months later?! 

Shockingly, the OP has not shown up since starting the thread....

[Blonde Line Lizard]

The only reason I watch The Players is seeing how many balls go in the water on 17.

 

A major?  No

[The Mad Bomber]

3 hours ago, jdl said:

Shockingly, the OP has not shown up since starting the thread....

lol, not exactly breaking news these days

[golfday]

My opinion here is no, and if there ever is a 5th it won't be retro-active.

 

However, let's play ball and say a 5th one was to be added. How would that actually take place? A few questions that came to mind are:

 

Who even gets to decide that? Who all would need to agree?

What has to be done to make it official? (i.e. get OWGR on board with points, get the major tours to start offering exemptions based on the status of the new 5th major, get the other majors to start offering invites based on performance in the new 5th major, etc.)

Would players immediately hold it in the regard of the other 4?

Would fans immediately hold it in the regard of the other 4?

[smashdn]

If I were inclined to crown an event the fifth major (and I ain't inclined to) it would be a toughened up version of The Memorial.  Last year when he/they bikini waxed everything and really got it running was an indication that it could be a worthy major venue if pushed to be.

 

IF the membership ever gets tired of having an annual tournament I could see MVGC being a PGA Championship venue.  I don't personally see it as a US Open venue though.  By that I mean it doesn't fit the USO "mold" (as I see it) but the USGA may just do it in the far off future to capture the "Jack's Place" mystique for that event.

[Need4spd]

Absolutely-effing-not. The Players does perfectly fine standing on its own merit. 
 

Nice way to try and establish yourself on the forum though. Yes, this just an Internet forum but it’s one with a fairly long history at this point. #donthatetheplayer

Edited June 22, 2021 by Need4spd

[BIM_Monkey]

A fifth major would be great. 

 

But it should be at a proper (goat track) muni. 

 

They have to play with rental clubs, a bag of random lake balls and can only use tees they find on the course. No caddies, no green books or yardage charts. Players turn up, put their ball in the chute and go off in 4 balls in that order. 

 

 

[Scotty1140]

I've never understood the push for The Players to become a major. It's already it's own separate category. Like if I summed up someone's career I might say they won 10 tournaments including 2 majors and a Players.

 

Make it a major and now it's 1 of 5. I feel this would actually do the opposite of what the pro Players major crowd wants.

[m d g]

Sure...why not? Everything else in this 'everybody gets a trophy' country has been watered down...

 

God forbid winning a major should be too hard and we need to give professionals another attempt at it.

 

Or how about we go the other way and get rid of the PGA Championship. If you ask golfers which major they'd most like to win if they could only win one, not a single golfer would choose the PGA. Not one...

[Paddy_2_Iron]

I've thought about this quite a bit and here is my suggestion.  

 

The Open, it's a classic and rotates through a series of courses.  Perfect the way it is, even if scoring can be high at times it's perfect.

US Open remains the same, I like the way they do it its the hardest test in golf.  

 

PGA should IMO become a global tourney traveling all around the globe.  It's really become a disappointment.  It used to be up there with the US Open, but IMO it's lost it.  I'd love to see it move around, not just the states

 

Masters is so unique it's hard to change it.  You almost have to leave it alone.  I'd like to rotate the Masters around to several different courses, maybe 4 or 5.  

 

Nevertheless, PGA should be completely overhauled it's a really stupid tournament.  

[Hawkeye77]

Just now, Paddy_2_Iron said:

I've thought about this quite a bit and here is my suggestion.  

 

The Open, it's a classic and rotates through a series of courses.  Perfect the way it is, even if scoring can be high at times it's perfect.

US Open remains the same, I like the way they do it its the hardest test in golf.  

 

PGA should IMO become a global tourney traveling all around the globe.  It's really become a disappointment.  It used to be up there with the US Open, but IMO it's lost it.  I'd love to see it move around, not just the states

 

Masters is so unique it's hard to change it.  You almost have to leave it alone.  I'd like to rotate the Masters around to several different courses, maybe 4 or 5.  

 

Nevertheless, PGA should be completely overhauled it's a really stupid tournament.  

Not sure where you've been . . .

 

PGA Championship has the strongest field, has been seeing good courses and getting great reviews the past many years, and will never go overseas because it isn't . . . stupid.  

[widow-maker]

On 6/21/2021 at 4:46 PM, golfday said:

My opinion here is no, and if there ever is a 5th it won't be retro-active.

 

However, let's play ball and say a 5th one was to be added. How would that actually take place? A few questions that came to mind are:

 

Who even gets to decide that? Who all would need to agree?

 

None of the golf organizations has the right to determine what is and isn't a Major.  It came about organically mostly facilitated by a couple of the old time golf writers.  No one organization controls it.  It's what makes it kind of pure the way it is.  It was conceived without profit or greed.

[3whacker]

2 hours ago, Paddy_2_Iron said:

I've thought about this quite a bit and here is my suggestion.  

 

The Open, it's a classic and rotates through a series of courses.  Perfect the way it is, even if scoring can be high at times it's perfect.

US Open remains the same, I like the way they do it its the hardest test in golf.  

 

PGA should IMO become a global tourney traveling all around the globe.  It's really become a disappointment.  It used to be up there with the US Open, but IMO it's lost it.  I'd love to see it move around, not just the states

 

Masters is so unique it's hard to change it.  You almost have to leave it alone.  I'd like to rotate the Masters around to several different courses, maybe 4 or 5.  

 

Nevertheless, PGA should be completely overhauled it's a really stupid tournament.  

the PGA is as AMERICAN as apple pie, the Wanamaker Trophy is among the oldest in professional sports..it was around before the Masters and represents the golf professionals in AMERICA, it is not meant to be held outside of this country

 

really dont see how you can call it a stupid tournament

[nichho]

I've never understood this desire to send the PGA Championship off around the world. It is the property of the PGA of America and has been for 105 years and even if the less than average Wrx'er looks down his nose at it, I'm pretty sure that the people behind it are immensely proud of its traditions and history.

And if you had the chance, you could ask any of the previous winners if they agreed with your assessment of its value.

Back to moving it around, you'll find the clue is in name, PGA of America

 

As for the OP nice try sweetheart, but no brownie for you.

[Conrad1953]

Didn't Evian threaten to pull out if the LPGA didn't call their tourney a major? 

[tacklingdummy]

The OP might be Fowler, Kuchar, Garcia, or a few others. 😂🤣

[DrivingChamp]

Craig Perks…major winner

[KRAMER1997]

6 hours ago, tacklingdummy said:

The OP might be Fowler, Kuchar, Garcia, or a few others. 😂🤣

Let's call the tournament in Abu Dhabi a major since Rickie and Westwood have won that! 

[GatorNate11]

I don't personally care if you make it a 5th major or not, but I also have a lot of thoughts on golf and the Tour that would be considered anywhere from revolutionary to downright sacrilege on these forums lol. The deepest I'll go into that here is to say, if you add a 5th, I'd rather see it be a single elimination, bracket style match play than yet another 72 hole stroke play event. With the rise in legal sports betting, guarantee you could get people more invested in that and the drama you could create with matchups/runs/Cinderella stories than what the average person sees as "oh, look, they're whacking that ball around again." Play it late summer and give it a very laid back atmosphere, and you'd probably be shocked at how many people would come to that thing. 

[NormanFan]

16 hours ago, DrivingChamp said:

Craig Perks…major winner

 

At least this would put an end to the "Who is the worst ever major winner?" debates.

[Golferpaul]

On 6/18/2021 at 10:54 PM, DHAMFROMBHAM said:

 

Rulers of the game: let’s go. The time has come for this championship to be recognized as the major championship it deserves to be. 

 

No.  Four majors is plenty and adding more just makes the original four less important.  If not, then why not add 25 more majors?

[Golferpaul]

On 6/22/2021 at 3:11 PM, m d g said:

 

 

Or how about we go the other way and get rid of the PGA Championship. If you ask golfers which major they'd most like to win if they could only win one, not a single golfer would choose the PGA. Not one...

I would.  It's my favorite Major after the Masters.   Year in and year out it provides us with a highly entertaining event.

[jc2]

The obvious solution is to make the Safeway Open a major.  

 

Adds a major in the fall - Which people apparently want

Adds a major on the West coast - Which I like due to TV watching

Will make people pay attention to the Safeway Open

 

I mean there are no downsides to my plan

[Hawkeye77]

On 6/25/2021 at 12:29 AM, GatorNate11 said:

I don't personally care if you make it a 5th major or not, but I also have a lot of thoughts on golf and the Tour that would be considered anywhere from revolutionary to downright sacrilege on these forums lol. The deepest I'll go into that here is to say, if you add a 5th, I'd rather see it be a single elimination, bracket style match play than yet another 72 hole stroke play event. With the rise in legal sports betting, guarantee you could get people more invested in that and the drama you could create with matchups/runs/Cinderella stories than what the average person sees as "oh, look, they're whacking that ball around again." Play it late summer and give it a very laid back atmosphere, and you'd probably be shocked at how many people would come to that thing. 

It's always popular to claim that more match play would be welcome or but in reality the one they have on Tour is about all that seems to work.  Hard to find as many eyes or interest by the last couple of matches overall and doubtful the players would embrace that format for a "major", or even changing a current major back to match play - there are a lot of reasons they haven't gone back to it.  Gambling? You can bet on almost anything already, and those people that need that component are betting anyway.

[Titleist84]

This will never happen because it wasn't around when Nicklaus,  Hogan, Jones, etc... were playing, but I think the test for the GOAT should be the number of FedEx Cups won.  

 

You have one champion per year as opposed to four majors.  Anyone can get hot for a week and win a major (Ben Curtis and Shaun Micheel) as opposed to a test over an entire season with 3 playoff events that cut the field down to the top 30 players in the final event.  

 

[Hawkeye77]

7 minutes ago, Titleist84 said:

This will never happen because it wasn't around when Nicklaus,  Hogan, Jones, etc... were playing, but I think the test for the GOAT should be the number of FedEx Cups won.  

 

You have one champion per year as opposed to four majors.  Anyone can get hot for a week and win a major (Ben Curtis and Shaun Micheel) as opposed to a test over an entire season with 3 playoff events that cut the field down to the top 30 players in the final event.  

 

😂🙄

[Titleist84]

57 minutes ago, Hawkeye77 said:

😂🙄

For someone that seemed to be so sensitive to mental health, you sure like to try to silence people and belittle them.

But show me some stats on why this is a bad idea.

 

Take a look at the world golf ranking for the 3 FedEx Cup champs that haven't won a major after the end of the playoffs, all were higher ranked compared to Curtis and Micheel after winning their majors.

 

All professional sports award their title after a  regular season and playoffs.  You could make the argument that the 125th player that barely keeps his card could win the FedEx Cup, but in the majors, excluding the Masters, the 156th player in the field could win.

 

 

[Hawkeye77]

1 hour ago, Titleist84 said:

For someone that seemed to be so sensitive to mental health, you sure like to try to silence people and belittle them.

But show me some stats on why this is a bad idea.

 

Take a look at the world golf ranking for the 3 FedEx Cup champs that haven't won a major after the end of the playoffs, all were higher ranked compared to Curtis and Micheel after winning their majors.

 

All professional sports award their title after a  regular season and playoffs.  You could make the argument that the 125th player that barely keeps his card could win the FedEx Cup, but in the majors, excluding the Masters, the 156th player in the field could win.

 

 

Yep, those emojis are intimidating, lol, apparently to one who was mocking Matthew Wolff and the entire issue - come on.  Lucy Van Pelt will take your nickel.

 

FedEx Cup is PGA Tour based money grab intended to create interest in "the Tour" which has caused havoc in scheduling, marginalized some events and has little stature alongside the four majors.  To further emphasize the obvious silliness of "deeming" it "the" measure (and you say GOAT), it's barely existed in the history of golf so would be useless in identifying the greatest golfer of all time, but I suppose helpful in identifying the better players of what, the last 12 years?  But does it really? It just identifies someone who gets hot for sometimes only about two or three weeks and not really a test of the entire season, but more so than it used to be. 

Edited June 26, 2021 by Hawkeye77

[nosedive32]

On 6/18/2021 at 10:54 PM, DHAMFROMBHAM said:

Alright, it’s time to right a wrong that has been an offense to the legacies of Tiger Woods, Fred Couples, Davis Love III and the other previous winners of the The Players Championship. It’s time to declare The Players golf’s 5th major. As a part of that move, all winners of this championship, since the event was moved to the Stadium Course, should have an additional major championship added to their records. Why? - you may ask. 

A major championship is differentiated from other events by two things: 1)a great field and 2) a great field competing on a great course. What about the field? Every year The Players brings together the strongest field of any golf tournament in the world, and there is no debate about that. What about the course? The Stadium Course is now recognized as a truly great test. Not everyone loves every hole, but it is a demanding course that offers all sorts of players a reasonable opportunity to win. 
 

I know I said that majors are defined by two things. I left one out. Majors are also defined by tradition. Go look at a list of Players champions. First, you’ll see a phenomenal list of champions. But, you’ll also see that this tournament has been played on this course for 40 years. It has established a significant tradition. 
 

Rulers of the game: let’s go. The time has come for this championship to be recognized as the major championship it deserves to be. 

 

Grand Slam = 4

See the tennis majors

Or a home run in baseball

 

Major championships don't play as one of the easiest courses on the pga tour.

 

When do you see 24 under win a major? When do you see 2 under as the cutline in a major?

 

The idea of the Players as a major exists only because the tour markets the crap out of it because it's their flagship tournament and it's not lucrative enough for them.

 

It wasn't 10 years ago top ranked European players were just skipping the players (McIlroy, Westwood) because it's practically just another PGA tour event.

 

It has special status as the tours flagship tournament. You get 80 OWGR points of you win. That's more than anything that isn't a major.

 

Why do you guys want to call an event a major because the pga tour hypes it and some 140 yard wedge shot to a green in the middle of the lake is cool or whatever?