Golf Tours - PGA Tour - The Majors
The Major Championships, often referred
to simply as the "Majors" are the four most prestigious annual
tournaments in men's professional golf.
The oldest of the majors is The Open Championship, which is often
(incorrectly) referred to in the United States as "The British Open".
The other three majors all take place in the United States. The Masters
is played at the same course every year, but the other three all rotate
between courses. Each of the majors has a distinct history, and they are
run by four different golfing organizations, but they are all recognized
as official events of the world's two most prestigious men's tours, the
PGA TOUR, and the PGA European Tour. In order of their playing date the
majors are:
1. April - The Masters
2. June - US Open
3. July - The Open Championship
4. August - PGA Championship
Alongside the biennial Ryder Cup team competition, the majors are golf's
marquee events. Elite players from all over the world participate in
them, and the reputations of the greatest male players in golf history
are largely based on the number of major victories they accumulate. The
top prizes are not actually the largest in golf, being surpassed by The
Players Championship, the three individual World Golf Championships
events, and one or two invitational events, but winning a major boosts a
player's career far more than winning any other tournament. If he is
already a leading player, he will probably receive large bonuses from
his sponsors and may be able to negotiate better contracts. If he is an
unknown he will immediately be signed up. Perhaps more importantly, he
will receive an exemption from the need to annually requalify for a tour
card on his home tour. Currently the PGA Tour gives a five-year
exemption to all major winners, thus giving a tournament golfer some
security in an unstable profession.
In recent years The Players Championship, which takes place two weeks
before The Masters, has been begun to be boosted as, "The fifth major"
by elements of the media. This has not been publicly encouraged by the
golfing authorities, but the tournament does attract much the same
strength of field as the majors. In addition, three World Golf
Championship events were established in 1999, bringing to eight the
total number of events in which virtually all of the world's top few
dozen players compete against other every year.
From:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Majors
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