I went to the second round of last week's PGA Championship (played in Atlanta) and had several discussions over the tournament’s place among the four major tournaments. As I am sure everyone knows, golf’s “Grand Slam” consists of the Masters’, the US Open, the British Open and the PGA Championship. Several golf buffs that I spoke with at the event put Augusta No.1, followed by the US Open, the British and then the PGA last. Several others “in the know” that I spoke with actually held the US Open in a higher regard than the Masters. The reasoning was that the US Open is America’s “national championship,” and can be won moreorless by anybody as random Joe can qualify for the event through a series of play-in events. The British Open was always ranked third with the PGA Championship coming in last.
I must say that I disagree with this common ranking of 3 and 4. I would flip them if I were to rank the majors. I love watching the Masters’, but I would probably rank the US Open first, followed closely by the Masters, but then I’d place the PGA Championship third followed by the British Open. What? You are crazy!
I am not. And with all due respect “Great” Britain, golf may have been born there, but it resides in America now. Deal with it. I feel as though the British Open is almost charity that we give that portion of Europe after we took golf away from them. (I am not sure if we won golf when Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown or it was a part of the settlement from the War of 1812 or if they gave it to us for helping them in WWII or even if we won it in a bet, but golf is ours now.) In fact, I believe it is nicknamed “The Open Championship,” because they want to fool people into watching it for four straight days. If we don’t bring attention to the fact that it is being played in a cow pasture in Scotland, perhaps the ratings will be higher!
Take a look at the courses that make up the British Open rotation. St. Andrews is known for a hole that has pavement running up one side of it. That’s a cartpath, and that is your claim to fame? Carnoustie is another course in the British Open rotation. It’s nickname is Carnasty. Oh BOY! I want to play THERE! Royal Troon, Turnberry, Royal Liverpool, Muirfield, Royal fill-in-the-blank…call me Scottish racist but they all look the same to me. I am with Rory McIlroy on this one: links golf is boring.
Take a look at the European players too. They all live over here now and play over here on a regular basis. You think the German Masters is as popular as the Masters in Augusta? No! You think people would skip the Tour Championship to play at a French tournament? No! They all come here, attend AMERICAN universities, marry American women and stay here. Why? Because the weather is better and the golf is far more competitive here than over there.
I realize that golf was invented in Great Britain but it leaves here now and it might be time to take its charity “Major” status away and give it to a more deserving course. Newer courses are prettier to look at and more fun to watch pro golfers play on for a major title. Sometimes it is just time to move on from tradition to what is better. England/Scotland/Ireland, it is time we moved on from you. Bring the fourth major to America because golf lives here now.
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