The players Championship, why isn't it rated more highly?
I always felt it should be considered a major, personally I enjoy it far far more than the PGA championships although PGA qualifiers are a lot more cooler and more "pure" imo
where do you stand in the players championship tourney what are your thoughts? is it wrong to say it should be considered a major? I think player stadium course is prolly oneof my favs if not fav course to watch through tv, seems like it def has some challenges through that 18 hole round
do think it being played in may felt better than march for it to be a major, i get masters is so prestigious for many reason and it being the first major of the season so I felt may is perfect for it
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also for those about to post that the course doesn't really have any big asks of the players that's the beauty of the course its just one big rough slightly tougher course as it challenges you throughout. thats the ask.
The Players is a great tournament on a great course. But there are already 4 majors, which is plenty. If everything becomes a major then nothing is a major.
IMO touring pros do not recognize majors the way fans/media do, possible exception to Masters. The Players holds a special place to pros primarily because of the 5 year tour exemption (it was previously 10 years) and the big payout from first down to the cut line. Those "perks" (pun unintended) do not translate to a "major championship" in the traditional sense. The NEC World Series of Golf also awarded its winner a 10 year tour exemption, but never reached anything close to major status.
If for some reason the PGA of America disbanded or was no longer recognized as a viable entity I think The Players would become the 4th major. Other than that I don't see it happening.
I thought the players held a special place to pros because:
A) It is the strongest field
B) They do EVERYTHING right for the pros (akin to Augusta)
obviously the $$$ and other perks help too
The Players Championship already holds a lot of prestige often mentioned when talking about majors won by a player. For example, this is the 1st paragraph of Fred Couples Wikipedia page.
Frederick Steven Couples (born October 3, 1959) is an American professional golfer who has competed on the PGA Tour and the PGA Tour Champions. A former World No. 1, he has won 64 professional tournaments, most notably the Masters Tournament in 1992,[2] and the Players Championship in 1984 and 1996.[3][4][5] Couples became the oldest person to make the cut in the Masters Tournament history during the 2023 Tournament at 63 years, six months, and five days.
That's probably more a function of the player and not the tournament. Greg Norman's wiki page for example, who holds the 72 hole tournament record of 264, does not mention The Players Championship for the first 20 paragraphs.
It is certainly a very important tournament, but it is not a major championship.
I thought the players held a special place to pros because:
A) It is the strongest field
B) They do EVERYTHING right for the pros (akin to Augusta)
obviously the $$$ and other perks help too
FWIW PGA Championship traditionally gets the top 100 players in the world participating, which makes it the strongest field (based on OWGR) of any tournament. One could argue that the 20 or so club pros qualifying weaken the field, but since the field is 156 that doesn't have much of an effect.
When The Players had 144 it was probably more difficult to win than now with 120. (actually 123 for 2026)
