The debate over the significance of The Players Championship has been sparked up again after the PGA Tour unveiled a trailer for the event in March.
There is a strong argument to be made that The Players Championship is the fifth most important event on the golfing calendar, particularly at the highest level.
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It is the flagship event on the PGA Tour, and there is no question that a fantastic field will gather at TPC Sawgrass as preparations for The Masters kick into another gear.
However, some clearly think that The Players could become a major in its own right.
The pathway to The Players Championship becoming the game’s fifth major
The PGA Tour released a trailer last week which included the tagline: ‘March is going to be major’. It led to some intriguing comments from Brandel Chamblee in which he suggested that he would put The Players above the four majors.
Unsurprisingly, many criticised Chamblee for his statement. Phil Mickelson disputed Chamblee’s claim, having won the event back in 2007.
But some would like to see The Players become a fifth major. Speaking on the Golf Channel Podcast, Rex Hoggard suggested what it would take for the event to be elevated further.
“I love the concept of it, simply because it would be additive to what we have right now. I don’t think anybody in Ponte Vedra, I don’t think any players or any media are anticipating this is going to become a major and one of the other four majors is going to have to go away or it’s going to get crowded out of the scene. That’s not the case at all,” he said.
“They have five majors on the LPGA tour. There is certainly a precedent set here. I will go back to my own boring argument that I have always held to when it comes to The Players Championship being a major: you or I or the media won’t decide that, the fans won’t decide that, the PGA Tour won’t decide that.
“It will come down to the players, and the players have to speak with one very, very clear voice that yes, this is a major championship. ‘This is our major championship’. That’s the way it’s going to work. I don’t think we’re quite there yet, but it is interesting that it feels like we’re getting closer.”
Why a change to golf’s major championships is not out of the question
For the vast majority of golf fans, there has never been a time when The Masters, the US Open, The Open Championship, and the PGA Championship have not constituted the four majors.
So it would be strange to add another major to the list, particularly initially. It would also change the record books, with Jack Nicklaus suddenly being considered a 21-time major winner.
What do you make of Brandel Chamblee’s comments on The Players Championship?
Chamblee raised some eyebrows with his comments on The Players…
“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.“
Nicklaus would understandably point out that his tally included his two US Amateur victories for much of his career, too.
Given that it did take time for the four majors to establish themselves above the rest, there is likely to come a day when a fifth major emerges.
And The Players Championship is certainly a leading candidate for that title, as things stand.
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