The 2025 major championship season finished long ago, but the debate around a potential fifth major roars on.
Rory McIlroy caught the eye in the latest major season as he completed the career grand slam, ending his lengthy wait by winning The Masters.
But he wasn’t to be outdone by Scottie Scheffler, who won the PGA Championship and The Open Championship.
And in between his two victories, his fellow American J.J. Spaun claimed his maiden major title at the US Open.
Greg Norman’s son wants the Australian Open to be a major championship
One man who also knows a thing or two about major success is Greg Norman, who won The Open twice during his glittering career.
But rather than the former LIV Golf CEO speaking up, his son Greg Norman Jr. has publicly called for a new major championship after the conclusion of the Australian Open.
He wrote on X: “Tennis has the Australian Open as a Major. Golf should have the Australian Open as a Major!
“Global golf, Royal Melbourne (can rotate to different locations, so many elite courses down under) and the Aussie fans (APAC is the fastest growing golf market in the world) deserve this.”
Which tournament would you like to see become the fifth major championship?
The Australian Open, for example, should almost be the fifth major. The market down there is huge with potential.
Rory McIlroy
There is a general consensus that The Players Championship is the unofficial fifth major, but the Australian Open is now starting to build interest as a genuine contender.
The likes of major winners McIlroy, Adam Scott and Cam Smith all took on the event at Royal Melbourne, with Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen emerging victorious.
Unsurprisingly, Norman Jr.’s idea was met with some criticism, but there was definitely agreement from many other golf fans.
Golf has an easy decision to make if a fifth major championship was introduced
There is indeed plenty of golf excitement in the Asia-Pacific region currently, with Australia arguably leading the way.
The Australian Open would be a great fifth major, having just showcased what it may look like at last week’s event.
Golfing history was made at the Australian Open, with the spectator count of 112,698 representing the highest attended golf event in the history of the country.
It’s more than the 102,000-plus that headed to The Grange Golf Club for LIV Golf Adelaide earlier in the year.
Which golf course would you like to win a title at most?
But rather than the duo needing to compete against each other, the figures suggest that a major championship in Australia would go down very well.
A lot of work would, of course, be needed behind the scenes to even generate a fifth major in the first place, but the powers that be may have an easy decision to make should it come to light.
While it would be a long way off, one positive is that Australian events could benefit from a shortened PGA Tour schedule, which CEO Brian Rolapp certainly seems to be in favor of.
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