Capelle On Golf

THE PLAYERS Championship was stationed after the Masters last year for the first time since 1975 (The first two editions were played late in the year.). No longer a warm up act for Augusta, the new dates give it a 24 day window in which to promote the event and build the suspense prior to the start of play. In addition, 31 long days now separate THE PLAYERS from the US Open, so it does not fall under the Open’s shadow as well.

THE PLAYERS has got the best dates possible. Still, that’s not enough to make it a major. Nor is the so-called best field, a bigger purse than any of the majors, a snazzy new clubhouse, or the relentless advertising campaign that’s designed to brainwash us into thinking it belongs alongside golf’s four elite.

No, The PLAYERS will never become the fifth major, nor did it ever have a chance. I can back this position with a dozen excellent reasons, but one good one is enough.

Simply put, it is unfair to players and fans to locate a major within 287 miles of another major every year – and at the same course to boot. Jacksonville is way too close to Augusta, which deprives fans in other regions of the country with a reasonable shot at seeing the so-called fifth major.

This valid geographical argument, however, pales in comparison to the global version. The United States already hosts three of the four majors. Having four out of five (80%) would be grossly unfair to the global golf community when you consider that 62% of the top 100 ranked players are from outside our borders – a percentage that is certain to grow in the years ahead.

It appears as if the foreign players are feeling slighted. In a recent survey by Golf Digest, 12 of 20 US pros considered the Players as the fifth major, and none chose a foreign tournament. In contrast, only two of eight foreign players agreed with them, and one was Vijay Singh, a full time US resident.

The six dissenters all chose events held outside the US for their fifth major. Aussies Stuart Appleby, Geoff Ogilvy, and Adam Scott selected the Australian Open. Europeans Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter naturally enough opted for events held in Europe. Foreign players believe that golf is a global game, and that their regions deserve to be represented by one of the game’s five biggest championships.

The Fifth Most Important Championship
It seems ludicrous to continue calling THE PLAYERS the fifth major when everyone knows there are only four. Besides, the name implies that it even if it was a major, that it would be fifth on the totem pole. This is in contrast to the four actual majors, each of which has its supporters who claim it’s the best.

So what can we call THE PLAYERS? Best of the Rest? Best Non-Major? These don’t work. Why not just end the fifth major hype and let it stand on its own. Its name, which was recently changed to all capitals, shouts out that its big time. Why not leave it at that?