The Four Biggest Golf Tournaments Of Each Golf Season
The Majors Of Golf
The term ‘Majors’ has become an accepted word in our vernacular. Everyone, from professional golfers to non-golfers, accepts it. Some with a more accurate definition than others. The reality is that the ‘Majors’ refers to the four Men’s Major Championships on the pro tour today. The Masters, the U.S Open, the Open Championship, and the PGA Championship.<span>
The Oldest of the four, the Open Championship, is more commonly referred to as the British Open. The inaugural tournament was played in 1860 at Prestwick Golf Club, solely for professionals, but the next year it was opened to the whole world, amateurs included. Two years later, in 1863, a money prize was introduced of 10 Euros to be divided between first, second, and third, with first place getting 6 Euros. The prize money grew and grew until it reached its amount today:<span> £720,000. The open was primarily a British tournament until Arnold Palmer won in 1960. While many Americans had won before him, his victory was the first to be televised. His appealing nature, coupled with the improvement in airfare to Europe, led many American golfers to take up the tournament.
Perhaps the most commonly known of the four, the Masters, is so identified because of the green jacket it awards its victors. The jacket is the designated and required apparel around the clubhouse and the winner thus becomes an honorary club member. The course was thought of by golfing legend Bobby Jones, when he and Cliff Roberts came across a land that, according to Jones, had been “waiting for someone to come along and lay a golf course upon it.” The most famous albatross (double eagle) of all time was hit here in 1935 when Gene Sarazen holed the “shot heard ‘round the world.” He sank a stroke from the fairway to tie himself with the leader, Craig Wood, and then went on to defeat Wood in a playoff.
The final two tournaments are the U.S. Open and the PGA Championship. The U.S. Open has been around since 1895, when it was first played in Rhode Island. The Open is notorious for being played on very difficult courses, usually with longer fairways, higher rough, and extraordinarily hilly greens. Any course trying to get into the official rotation for the Open will often have to undergo some doctoring to have these obstacles. The first American-born winner was John J. McDermott in 1911, with his victory leading to a domination by American golfers. Lastly, the PGA Championship, or “Glory’s Last Shot,” is the season’s last Major. The 2007 winner, Tiger Woods, received $1.26 million, contrasting quite nicely with the $500 received by the tournament’s first champion (Jim Barnes). The PGA Championship was designed specifically for prestigious golfers, with impressive credentials, and thus has quite a list of defining criteria, and it is still the only Major that does not invite leading amateurs to compete.
A true ‘grand slam’ victory has never been achieved. Tiger Woods won the final three tournaments in 2000 and the first (the Masters) in 2001. So it was consecutive, but not the same season. Someday perhaps someone will pull off a true grand slam.
The term ‘Majors’ has become an accepted word in our vernacular. Everyone, from professional golfers to non-golfers, accepts it. Some with a more accurate definition than others. The reality is that the ‘Majors’ refers to the four Men’s Major Championships on the pro tour today. The Masters, the U.S Open, the Open Championship, and the PGA Championship.<span>
The Oldest of the four, the Open Championship, is more commonly referred to as the British Open. The inaugural tournament was played in 1860 at Prestwick Golf Club, solely for professionals, but the next year it was opened to the whole world, amateurs included. Two years later, in 1863, a money prize was introduced of 10 Euros to be divided between first, second, and third, with first place getting 6 Euros. The prize money grew and grew until it reached its amount today:<span> £720,000. The open was primarily a British tournament until Arnold Palmer won in 1960. While many Americans had won before him, his victory was the first to be televised. His appealing nature, coupled with the improvement in airfare to Europe, led many American golfers to take up the tournament.
Perhaps the most commonly known of the four, the Masters, is so identified because of the green jacket it awards its victors. The jacket is the designated and required apparel around the clubhouse and the winner thus becomes an honorary club member. The course was thought of by golfing legend Bobby Jones, when he and Cliff Roberts came across a land that, according to Jones, had been “waiting for someone to come along and lay a golf course upon it.” The most famous albatross (double eagle) of all time was hit here in 1935 when Gene Sarazen holed the “shot heard ‘round the world.” He sank a stroke from the fairway to tie himself with the leader, Craig Wood, and then went on to defeat Wood in a playoff.
The final two tournaments are the U.S. Open and the PGA Championship. The U.S. Open has been around since 1895, when it was first played in Rhode Island. The Open is notorious for being played on very difficult courses, usually with longer fairways, higher rough, and extraordinarily hilly greens. Any course trying to get into the official rotation for the Open will often have to undergo some doctoring to have these obstacles. The first American-born winner was John J. McDermott in 1911, with his victory leading to a domination by American golfers. Lastly, the PGA Championship, or “Glory’s Last Shot,” is the season’s last Major. The 2007 winner, Tiger Woods, received $1.26 million, contrasting quite nicely with the $500 received by the tournament’s first champion (Jim Barnes). The PGA Championship was designed specifically for prestigious golfers, with impressive credentials, and thus has quite a list of defining criteria, and it is still the only Major that does not invite leading amateurs to compete.
A true ‘grand slam’ victory has never been achieved. Tiger Woods won the final three tournaments in 2000 and the first (the Masters) in 2001. So it was consecutive, but not the same season. Someday perhaps someone will pull off a true grand slam.
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