The Players Championship is just around the corner. So you know what that means, right?
Yet again we return to the annual question: should it be our sport’s fifth major?
It is interesting to observe that 99% of those who pose the question and then claim that it should be are Americans. Well, they would be, wouldn’t they?
America has an utterly unique relationship with sport. They stage a baseball competition that features only American teams and they call it the World Series. They seem to think that the Super Bowl is the world’s biggest sporting event.
Should The Players Championship Be a Major?
Meanwhile, Brandel Chamblee is never short of an opinion and this is what he had to say on the subject: “When you look at The Players Championship, with all due respect to the other four major championships, it is the best field in golf. It is the deepest field in golf.
“By virtue of the fact that only one person in its 50 year history has managed to successfully defend it, I would argue that it is the hardest major championship to win.
“Especially since it moved (The Players Championship) to TPC Sawgrass, which, in my estimation, save one hole, is perhaps arguably the best golf course that they play a major championship on from a shot value perspective.
“You can talk about aesthetics all you want, risk-reward holes, certainly, but I’m talking about a shot value standpoint. You can’t touch TPC Sawgrass.
“So in every single way that a metric could be used to measure whether something is a major, The Players, to me, stands alone and above all the other four major championships as not just a major. It is in my estimation, the best major.”
I do not agree with much of what Phil Mickelson has had to say in recent years but he got it spot on when he responded with: “I’ve won it and it’s not (a major).”
With all due respect to Chamblee, what utter and complete nonsense. I look forward to The Players Championship every year and while it is correct that TPC Sawgrass is an exciting layout, it is a stadium course with several gimmicky holes and, in my humble opinion, is not fit to stage a major. And never will be.
While it is true that some of golf’s best exponents have claimed the title, previous winners also include Craig Perks, Tim Clark, Stephen Ames, Fred Funk and Jodie Mudd.
It takes more than a massive prize fund and a bucketload of FedEx Cup points to make a major. More than 700,000 people attend the Phoenix Open. Would anybody ever seriously consider classifying that tournament as a major? Of course not.
Majors are all about history and tradition and are played on the best courses.
Golf’s Fifth Major Should Be The Australian Open
Golf has four majors and three of them are staged on American soil. Tennis has four majors – they are staged in Australia, France, England and America.
I have long believed that there is room for a fifth major in our sport. As things stand, The Masters kicks things off in April, the US PGA follows in May, we have the US Open in June and The Open Championship in July. In four brief months, the major season is done and dusted. Over. And then we have to twiddle our thumbs for eight months and wait for it all to start again.
I strongly believe that a fifth major could and should be staged in Australia in November or early December and the obvious choice for that would be the Australian Open. There are some fabulous courses Down Under, including the magnificent Royal Melbourne.
So let’s end this debate about The Players here and now!
Derek Clements is a seasoned sports journalist and regular Golfshake contributor, specialising in tour coverage, opinion pieces, and feature writing. With a long career in national newspapers and golf media, he has reported on the game across Europe, the United States and Australia. A passionate golfer, he has played and reviewed numerous renowned courses, with personal favourites including Pebble Beach, Kingsbarns, Aldeburgh, Old Thorns and the K Club. His love of the game informs his thoughtful commentary on both professional golf and the wider golfing community.
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