The Only Real Argument Against The PLAYERS as a Major

I’ll start with a caveat—I actually don't totally mind them adding a fifth major and making it The Players Championship, knighting this tournament—finally—after all these years. I don't think it hurts anybody. I don't think there's any real downside. But there’s one big, fat “if” to consider, because each of us—fans, media, governing bodies, and cynics alike—have to agree on it to make it real. Everyone has get on the same page about how the conversation changes from here.

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If you make The Players the fifth major, and you don't retroactively give people major championships for having won it (because that is a non-starter), the thing that you jeopardize is bifurcating the discourse around how we measure greatness in professional golf. Right now, that measurement is majors. Adding another opportunity from here on out to rack ‘em up will create two camps: those who'll never embrace the change, and thus, the stats, and those who'll roll with the punches. Even the latter group, though, will have to offer caveats.

Consider a guy like Chris Gotterup. On fire right now. Bright future ahead. The active conversation: Does he become a major winner? Let’s say we all quickly buy in on The Players as the fifth, effective immediately. And let's say Gotterup takes this year’s Players, and then picks up a PGA Championship in Frisco in ‘27. Are you putting him in the same category as other two time major champions like Colin Morkawa or Xander Schauffele? You might—but your personal opinion aside, there’s now a bit of a handcuff on these discussions. One of them was a Players—or worse—he only has a Players, will ring in the minds of the pundits, even if they can't bring themselves to say it.

Maybe there's a third camp—those that want five, want it to be this tournament, and will ride this rig to the gates of Valhalla (the mythological one).

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I’ll reiterate: I don’t resist the idea of making this official. I just think we all need to be aware of what that does to our beloved debates. I don't know that’s necessarily the more fun conversation to have. But everyone will have to commit to some version of it.

On the other hand, I think it’s OK for the Players to retain the same level of prestige it already carries. I think it's OK to be in that first tier of PGA TOUR tournaments below the majors.

So, wasn't everything fine how it was?

In our current *gestures broadly* culture pushing to the extreme is pretty en vogue. From a business lens, it's a no-brainer to create even more hype around a top tier event on the schedule. And if we actually think about the next generation of golfers (the ones who aren't arguing yet), who's to say they're fan experience will have been ruined by growing up with five majors to look forward to.

By then, we'll be sinking into our armchairs, clinging to the memories of Tiger in 2000 and Scottie and Rory in 2024 and 2025. Maybe it's cool to cement ourselves into a new "remember when" generation of golf sickos.

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