What is a major?

I realize this weeks Open Championship is a major. I just don't understand what makes a major different from any other tournament.

Surely someone can explain this to me.

Thanks,

A major is where companies make more money than the players...

My understanding of majors is that your playing not only for prize money but your are playing for a historical title that will have your name put down in history as winning such an event.

I.E most clubs have their own major comps and if you win your name will be put on a trophy and also the plaque in your club house.

Hope I am right on this
Cheers
Mark

The Wiki entry is correct - Majors are where you can get the most points in the world rankings.

Now, why the PGA Championship is a major is a mystery to me. IMO, it's nothing more than 'Club Champ' for the guys on the USPGA Tour.

Why not the Australian Open? Or the Canadian Open? The only reason it makes sense to have 3 of the 4 majors in the US is money.

OK try to follow because this is going to get confusing. The PGA tour controls all the professional events in the US, which require a person hold a PGA tour card received from Q school or winning a qualifying tour event (we will get to that), or from an exempt foreign tour card holder. They control all BUT the four majors. You do NOT need a tour card to play any major. That is the difference. Now the PGA and the foreign tours recognizes the four majors for pro status, winning one gets you a tour card if you don't already have one for 5 or more years, 10 in the case of the Masters. The four major are all by invitation only, the British and U.S. open by qualifying or winning a regular tour event. For the PGA Championship by invitation or winning a tour event only. Master is by invitation ONLY, there are always amenturers invited, because the Master was created by Bobby Jones who himself was an amenturer. There is more to it then that, other particulars, but that is the jest of it. The four Majors are important because ANYBODY can win them, you are not excluded because you are not a professional and they are not controlled by the various tours, foreign or domestic.

In soccer we have a world cup, in football we have a super bowl

hi Go Navy
the Open will only let you enter for qualifying if you hold a handicap of 0.4 or less so not anyone can win only golfers of 0.4 or less or women that fit the entrance rules.
cheers
bill

Where did you get that from...ANYBODY can attempt to qualify for the US Open, they do qualifying every year. Now if you are not a scratch player,your chances of getting threw the qualifying are pretty slim, but you can try. What you are thinking of ..I believe.. is if you have a handicap of 1.4 you can skip the local qualifying and go directly to the sectional.

Check with your local pro shop, some where in your state a course will be selected for initial qualifying or local qualifying as they call it. Win that and you go to regional qualifying from there to sectional, where you get to compete for a spot in the open. Keep in mind local qualifying is not cheap, it was $150 bucks several years ago, no idea how much it is now. That is not including your greens fee, usually top courses are picked for the local qualifying course, probably another $150 or $200 bucks, not counting your travel and accommodation's. Once you get to regionals, you'll need a caddie, that will cost you too. Then you gotta do again for sectionals, keep in mind lets say do get in, last time I checked it was two grand entry fee to the Open..lol...you can't be poor to play this game.

Almost forgot, if you win the US amateur you automatically get into the Open, and there is no handicap restriction on that either.

hi Go Navy
I'm talking about THE OPEN not the US open and if you go to the R&A site and download the entry form it tells you on it you must have a handicap of 0.4 to enter the regional qualifying both pro or armature unless you are exempt. i know as i tried to enter the regional qualifying at musselburgh in 1980 but my handicap was not low enough i was playing of 4 then and i had shot par round Musselburgh many times and knew the course so well i knew i could put a good show in the qualifying rounds there. the Open was a Muirfield that year and it was only 17 miles away and was won by Tom Watson and Lee Trevino was second as i was at that Open every day including the practice rounds. i never thought i would or could win but i wanted to try and qualify to at least play but sadly i never got lower then a 4 handicap.
it may be diffrent in the US Open as i don't know about there Open but THE OPEN has had a 0.4 limit since at least 1980 that i know off. limit on the regional qualifying rounds.
cheers
bill

__________________
ping zing2 metal driver
ping zing2 metal 3 wood
ping eye2 1 iron
ping zing2 3/9 irons
ping ist 47% wedge
ping zing2 52% s/wedge
ping mb 56% wedge
ping c10 G2I broom handled putter
top flight "T" golf balls
white ping bag

I've always felt that the fact that the Master's is by invitation only should disqualify it from "Major" status (as should Augusta's atttude to non-whites, women, jews, and anyone else other than a wasp male), but then I think that for the sake of golf development world wide the majors should be completely revamped to reflect the various tours.

So we could have a US, European and Asian tour event open to the top 'n' players in the world ranking plus the top "n" from the tour in question. Thr fourth major would be a World event that rotated between the tours and only to the top ranked players.

Get sponsorship from Accenture, Volvo or whoever on a global basis and use the money to develop the grass rooots game around the world.

__________________
I firmly believe that we should try to experience all that life affords, except, perhaps, bestiality and of course Morris Dancing.

Thanks Bill, I had no idea the Brits did that, I assumed they operated as we do. But point being amateurs are still involved as opposed to regular tour event were a tour card of some kind is a must have, or you don't play. I know for regular events they only allow a certain percentage of foreign players in per tournament, and they are not just any players, they better have a name, and won alot on their respective tours. Once a foreign player wins a tour event he no longer needs the invitation, because they get an exemption from anywhere from 1 - 3 years, if it is a Major for 5 years. So the more exempt foreign players, the less percentage of invitation go out, because the PGA very closely monitors this to prevent to much money being taken away from the American players. That does not apply to the America Major, largerly because the PGA doesn't have control over them. That is another thing that is different.

I am thinking , but not sure, but the British Open wasn't even on the radar before Arnie played it back in the 50's or 60's after being invited, and it suddenly became big after he won it. Because prior to that, I believe the grand slam had been done by the likes of Bobby Jones were the British Open, US Open and the British Amateurs Open, and US Amateur Open. The Masters snuck in there after Bobby Jones retired becoming a big event by the players and replacing the British Amateur because Americans couldn't play in it, Arnie claimed he made sort of a grand Slam when he won the the Masters, US Open and had previously won Amateur Open even though the PGA was around since the advent of professional golf, it was not considered a major..go figure. Oddly enough Ben Hogan had done it before him including winning the PGA, so had Sam Snead, but got no where near the attention Arnold Palmer got who never won the PGA, so how did the PGA become a major, who knows. Probably, and don't quote me on this, originally the PGA was for American PGA card holder only, no foreigners, regardless if winning an American event. I think once they started allowing and foreign players who had won a PGA event, it opened it up as a world wide event similar to the other Majors. Since foreign players were unlikely to compete in the US Amateur open, just as we were unlikely to compete in the British Amateur Open, they were dropped as Majors in the eyes of the world, and the new grand slam was born...The US Open, British Open, Master, PGA Championship all available world wide, all by invitation or qualifying, all not part of the regular tour schedule in either tour.

hi Go Navy
i think interest in the Open started in the USA when Hogan won in 1958 but it was not till as you said when Arny started coming over that it really took of in the USA. it has always been the biggest and most wanted to win tournament over here and in Europe and i still think most players from the USA still want to with that claret jug more than the prise money. in 1971 Trevino won with a score of 10 under and a purse of only £5500 and he won in 1972 and still only won £5500 for a score of 6 under.
back then the prise money was not that good to tempt many players from the USA and Hogan only played once in the open over here but when Arny Palmer started playing he seemed to inject a feeling for other players from the USA to want to come and play and learn links golf. many found links golf so diffrent to what that played in the USA but most loved it and came back.
cheers
bill

__________________
ping zing2 metal driver
ping zing2 metal 3 wood
ping eye2 1 iron
ping zing2 3/9 irons
ping ist 47% wedge
ping zing2 52% s/wedge
ping mb 56% wedge
ping c10 G2I broom handled putter
top flight "T" golf balls
white ping bag

Yes I agree the PGA championship should be replaced by a 'world' major that could alternate between say South Africa, Australia, Asia, South America etc

I think its wholly unfair on the golf playing world they cant host major championships and wouldnt it make it a more complete test of golf for these guys to play in other countries?

I appreciate i'm probably in the minority here but the game has moved on golbally from where it was 20 years ago and perhaps its time to put some 'traditions' to bed and contemplate moving the PGA or creating a 5th major