The golf Majors Championships, commonly known as ‘the majors’, are the most prestigious annual tournaments in the sport. The best players from around the world flock to the majors, while the best players in golf history are often judged primarily on their number of major championship wins.
origins
The four main places in the tournament were originally held by the Open Championship (or British Open), the British Amateur, the US Open and the US Amateur.
However, over the years, the term “Major Championships” has come to encompass the Masters, the US Open, the Open Championship, and the US PGA Championship.
While there is some debate about the exact timing of the change to naming these four particular tournaments as the majors, many point to Arnold Palmer’s 1960 season, when after winning the Masters and the US Open, he said that if he could win the Open Championship and the PGA Championship, he would have ‘a grand slam of his own’ to rival the feats of Bobby Jones in 1930.
british commander
The Open Championship is often referred to as the British Open outside of the United Kingdom. Prior to the 1960s, few American players participated due to travel times abroad – the Open Championship was not considered a major event in the US until Palmer began competing in the UK in that decade.
The other three majors are held in the US: the Masters is played at Augusta National Golf Club every year, while the other three courses rotate. The Open Championship, however, is always played on a links course.
career prospects
Each of the majors has a different history, and each is run by a different golf organization, but their status is recognized around the world. Big winners receive the maximum allocation of 50 Official World Golf Rankings points, which are endorsed by all major tours.
Prize money for major championships is official on the PGA Tour, the European Tour and the Japan Golf Tour.
While the prize money at the majors isn’t the biggest in professional golf, winning at one of these tournaments is a huge boost to a player’s career. Leading players are likely to receive huge sponsor bonuses and better contracts, while unknowns will sign up right away.
Players receive qualifying exemptions for their local tours, while the PGA Tour grants a five-year exemption to all major winners.
The majors are played in the following order:
1. Weekend of the second Sunday of April: the Masters: organized by invitation by the Augusta National Golf Club
2. Weekend of the third Sunday in June – US Open: Hosted by the USGA and played at various venues across the US.
3. Weekend of the third Friday in July – The Open Championship: organized by the R&A and played at various golf courses in the UK.
4. August (fourth weekend after the Open Championship) – PGA Championship: Hosted by the Professional Golfers Association of America and played at various venues across the US.