\u201cthe best major\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\nChamblee comments came as the tournament\u2019s marketing team caused a stir with the slogan \u2018March is going to be major\u2019 running on its advertisements on US television.<\/p>\n
In response, defending champion Rory McIlroy tried to shut down such talk.<\/p>\n
He joked that he would love to have seven major championships to his name, instead of his actual tally of five, courtesy of his victories last year and in 2019 at TPC Sawgrass.<\/p>\n
But the career grand slam winner made his stance very clear.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think The Players is one of the best golf tournaments in the world,\u201d McIlroy said last month. \u201cI don\u2019t think anyone disputes that or argues that.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think from a player perspective it\u2019s amazing. I think from an on-site fan experience it\u2019s amazing. It\u2019s an amazing golf course, location, venue. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut I\u2019m a traditionalist, I\u2019m a historian of the game and we have four major championships.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chamblee doubled down on his comments on the eve of the tournament at TPC Sawgrass.<\/p>\n
He dismissed McIlroy\u2019s tongue-in-cheek remark about increasing his career major tally.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would in no way advocate for retroactively giving major championships to those who won The Players Championship before being named a major championship,\u201d Chamblee said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause they did not go to bed Saturday night thinking they were playing for a major championship.\u201d<\/p>\n
But Chamblee insisted that The Players should be elevated to major status based on the quality of the field.<\/p>\n
There are no amateurs or club professionals at The Players, only the PGA Tour\u2019s best.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf a major championship is supposed to identify the best player against the strongest field in golf, The Players Championship already meets that definition as well as any championship in golf,\u201d Chamblee said on Golf Channel.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnalytical models like Data Golf frequently rate the field at The Players Championship as the best field in all of golf.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, is it worthy? Absolutely.\u201d<\/p>\n
Former European Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley agreed that the strength of the field is impressive saying based on that, The Players does deserve to be a major, but \u201cwith the addition of some players from LIV\u201d.<\/p>\n
The Irishman also presented his view that if the men\u2019s game was to expand to a fifth major, it should be a major played outside of the US.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d like to see it on the road,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d have a problem with four of the five majors held in this country.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe jobs of the major championships is to broadcast the sport around the world and that means people coming to watch it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t get that opportunity at the moment. <\/p>\n
\u201cScottie Scheffler, the best player in the game, hardly ever goes on the road.\u201d<\/p>\n
He later added: \u201cWe\u2019ve got to throw our eye out to the rest of the world.
\u201cI\u2019m looking at Japan, I\u2019m looking at Korea, maybe Australia.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe not Europe because we have The Open there already.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a global game, remember. It\u2019s not an American-centric game.\u201d<\/p>\n
Spaun eyes Rory’s clubs, but finds water | 01:45<\/p>\n
Former Australian professional turned commentator Paul Gow agreed, saying Australia should be home to a fifth major.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a big event. I know they\u2019re all the Americans are calling out (for it to become) the fifth major. No chance,\u201d Gow said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt should not be the fifth major. It\u2019s just owned by the PGA Tour… So they\u2019re just trying to feather their nest there.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey only own the President\u2019s Cup, right? They don\u2019t own the Ryder Cup, which is the biggest money maker of all. They don\u2019t own the four majors. So this is a way to prop themselves into a major. The other major should be here.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fifth major should be in Australia. It should be off American shores for a start.\u201d<\/p>\n
Like Gow, McGinley believes the talk of adding another US-based major is a sign of greed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is serving the agenda of the PGA Tour, which is trying to raise more money because of the exorbitant prices of everything that\u2019s gone up in the game since the Saudis became involved,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a money-driven agenda.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chamblee somewhat agreed that the game needed to go more global.<\/p>\n
Although, on an infrequent basis with The Players staying put in Florida like The Masters is in Georgia.<\/p>\n
Instead, he would have the third major of the year on the move, every so often.
\u201cI don\u2019t know why the PGA Championship doesn\u2019t move around the world once every five years,\u201d Chamblee said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause the PGA represents the Professional Golfers\u2019 Association. They have that in Europe, they have that in Japan. They have that all over the world.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt should move around to reflect the Professional Golfers\u2019 Associations of Japan, or Korea, of Australia.\u201d<\/p>\n
Smith’s INCREDIBLE shot on 17th in 2022 | 01:29<\/p>\n
The players themselves arrived in Florida\u2019s Ponte Vedra Beach this week prepared for the fifth major questions.<\/p>\n
And most of them have sided with McIlroy.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not a major for me,\u201d FedEx Cup champion Tommy Fleetwood said. <\/p>\n
\u201cSaying it\u2019s not a major doesn\u2019t demean it any way, and it doesn\u2019t make it any less big than what it is. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s always been The Players Championship. We\u2019ve called it the fifth major forever. I think four majors sits perfectly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fellow Englishman Matt Fitzpatrick agreed that there is no disrespect in saying that The Players does not reach the heights of a major.<\/p>\n
But it is still a sensational tournament.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019d be right up there in terms of my career highlights,\u201d Fitzpatrick told BBC Sport.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not the same as winning a major but it\u2019s the next best thing.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the biggest PGA Tour event of the season so to win would mean a hell of a lot – no doubt about that.\u201d<\/p>\n
The general consensus is clear: The Players is big, but it is not major.<\/p>\n
If they were talking football, they might say that is like a derby but not an FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium.<\/p>\n
If they were talking cricket, they might say it is the Champions Trophy but not the World Cup.<\/p>\n
Or if they were Australians talking about AFL, they might say it is like 100,000 people inside the MCG on Anzac Day for the annual clash between Collingwood and Essendon but it is not Grand Final Day.<\/p>\n
There is nothing wrong with not being the pinnacle.<\/p>\n
Every sport needs its big drawcard events outside of its biggest days.<\/p>\n
The fact The Players gets compared to a major is a massive compliment.<\/p>\n
It does bare a lot of similarities to a major, The Masters, in particular.<\/p>\n
Double bogeys MELT Min Woo Lee in 2023 | 03:20<\/p>\n
It is played at the same venue every year with a series of signature holes that are instantly recognisable upon turning on the television.<\/p>\n
Like the Masters in April, March is The Players\u2019 time – since it moved from May back to its traditional spot in 2019.<\/p>\n
Those attributes are partly why Billy Horschel told Sky Sports at the Arnold Palmer Invitational last week that he believes The Players should be given major status.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve said it for a while – I think it is a fifth major,\u201d Horschel said. \u201cWhether it gets voted a fifth major, it doesn\u2019t bother me at all.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf between the majors and The Players, if all I won was a Players Championship, I would consider it a major because that\u2019s what I think of the event. I think when you look at the history of the event, the way it\u2019s promoted, the way the support is in the Northeast Florida community, I think it deserves to be a major.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am biased – I live there. I have a great relationship with a lot of people in the PGA Tour, not just the top execs. There\u2019s a lot of people that work there that do so much for the PGA Tour that don\u2019t get the recognition. I would like to see it a major, but I\u2019m not going to lose sleep over it.\u201d<\/p>\n
ORLANDO, FLORIDA – MARCH 07: Billy Horschel of the United States.Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
One of the biggest arguments against The Players being a major is the field.<\/p>\n
As the event is run by the PGA Tour, there are no LIV players present.<\/p>\n
Whereas at a major the likes of Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau and Australia\u2019s Cameron Smith strengthen the quality of the field.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf it were made a major championship, qualifying criteria would open us as such that they would be able to play here,\u201d Chamblee said.<\/p>\n
Before the split in the men\u2019s professional game, The Players could genuinely lay claim to boasting the strongest field in golf.<\/p>\n
All of the PGA Tour\u2019s finest take part for a shot at what was once the biggest prize purse in the sport – the US$25 million (A$35m) prize pool this week is now blanketed by the US$40 million on the line for the season\u2019s top 30 performers at the Tour Championship.<\/p>\n
This year that includes Brooks Koepka.<\/p>\n
The ex-LIV golfer does not have automatic entry into the Tour\u2019s signature events, but courtesy of his 2023 PGA Championship victory, he will tee it up this week for the first time since 2022.<\/p>\n
During his pre-tournament press conference, reporters attempted to lure Koepka into having a dig at LIV by endorsing The Players as the fifth major.<\/p>\n
The five-time major champion was not getting involved in a slanging match, but provided a measured take on The Players\u2019 spot on the calendar.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think you\u2019ve got to have one big event on the PGA Tour, and it\u2019s their staple, and I think it\u2019s a good thing,\u201d Koepka said. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think anytime you can have an event where the best players on the PGA Tour come together, you look at that, you got the BMW on the DP, every tour has one big event where their main — everybody comes together, everybody plays that event, and you\u2019ve got the best players on that Tour playing at the same time. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think that\u2019s what makes this event so cool. I think it\u2019s awesome that we come back to the same golf course every year. I think that\u2019s really, really fun and makes it enjoyable.<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean, I know what you\u2019re trying to bait me into saying, but listen, it\u2019s the Players Championship. Everybody knows it\u2019s a tournament you want to win. It\u2019s a tournament that\u2019s, like I said earlier, the kick-off of the big season of the golf, and that\u2019s what makes this fun.\u201d<\/p>\n
With The Masters less than a month away, The Players is the perfect lead-in.<\/p>\n
A testing, entertaining golf course whets the appetite for the bigger things to come.<\/p>\n
And there is nothing wrong with that.<\/p>\n
It might not be the fifth major.<\/p>\n
But it is a tournament with most of the best players in the world wrestling with a golf course that does its best, thanks to a lot of water, to force them to implode.<\/p>\n
It will be thrilling to watch.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"How The Players Championship fits into golf\u2019s calendar sparks an annual debate, and now the players themselves have…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":534600,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[566],"tags":[246390,2095,265330,49720,64,63,42313,108977,265329,3193,29743,235503,264357,265325,265321,265324,2755,3738,2105,755,9262,265322,113264,29981,2041,2067,246404,67058,246391,265323,201633,265326,668,756,31665,265328,2643,265327,85,42347,2614,246389,125129,265320],"class_list":{"0":"post-534599","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-golf","8":"tag-amazing-golf-course","9":"tag-america","10":"tag-annual-debate","11":"tag-arnold-palmer","12":"tag-au","13":"tag-australia","14":"tag-bayerische-motoren-werke-ag","15":"tag-brandel-chamblee","16":"tag-brooks-koepka-press","17":"tag-cameron-smith","18":"tag-career-grand-slam","19":"tag-career-highlights","20":"tag-double-bogeys","21":"tag-drawcards-events-outside","22":"tag-entertaining-golf-course","23":"tag-ex-liv-star","24":"tag-florida","25":"tag-fox-sports","26":"tag-getty-images-inc","27":"tag-golf","28":"tag-golf-course","29":"tag-golf-majors","30":"tag-golf-tournaments","31":"tag-grand-slam-winner","32":"tag-north-america","33":"tag-northern-america","34":"tag-on-site-fan-experience","35":"tag-orlando-ramirez","36":"tag-player-perspective","37":"tag-players-championships","38":"tag-ponte-vedra-beach","39":"tag-pre-tournament-press-conference","40":"tag-press-conference","41":"tag-rory-mcilroy","42":"tag-signature-events","43":"tag-signature-holes","44":"tag-sky-sports","45":"tag-sparks-never-ending-debate","46":"tag-sports","47":"tag-tommy-fleetwood","48":"tag-united-states-of-america","49":"tag-waste-management-phoenix-open","50":"tag-woo-lee","51":"tag-world-wrestling"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/534599","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=534599"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/534599\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/534600"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=534599"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=534599"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=534599"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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