It’s all over for another year and, for some, it’s finished before it ever really began. The Claret Jug has been presented and the men’s major golf championships campaign is in the history books.
It will be eight months before we reconvene again at Augusta for the Masters and, unless you’ve got a hankering for the Tour Championship and the DP World Tour playoffs, it’ll be a long time before the pulses get racing again.
Yes, there are very good reasons for a constricted major campaign. TV rights, the lure of other sports, and the weather are just a trio of them.
But should outside influences dominate when they are staged and is it in the interests of the game for the biggest four events to be done and dusted in four months.
Sam Neale and Steve Carroll are bound to disagree…
Men’s major golf championships: Is it all over too fast?
‘You could argue the long wait allows the sense of anticipation to grow’
As someone who dips in and out of golf, mainly watching the majors, I want to see the best players in the world battle it out against each other on the world’s best courses, writes Sam Neale.
With this scheduling it allows me to do just that, keeping me engaged from April to August, rather than losing interest in between the majors.
I can understand if players are dissatisfied with the condensed scheduling, due to its unrelenting nature. Also, if a certain player is on a particularly bad run of form, this could lead to poor showings in all the key events on the golfing calendar.
Despite this, I find that ending the major season after the conclusion of The Open Championship in July is a positive for golf. The sport does not need to compete with sports such as football and the NFL.
Besides, as much as the players could argue it is too congested, they are rewarded with a bigger off-season when they reach the end of the tunnel.
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With other big events still to come this year, such as The Olympics, The Presidents Cup, and the FedEx Cup Playoffs, not forgetting the Tour Championship, there is still plenty more golf to keep the fans interested heading into August and September.
You could also argue the long wait to see the players tee off at Augusta National Golf Club allows the sense of anticipation to grow.
‘We should start with the majors and build the year around those’
What’s the rush? 15 short weeks. That’s all it took from the opening tee shot at the Masters to the Claret Jug being lifted in July, writes Steve Carroll
Now the long wait begins, and I hate it. The major championships season is crushed, crammed, squeezed and the tour calendar is no better for it.
Why are our biggest golf tournaments not given pride of place? Why are they bowing to the Olympics, or shifting so the PGA Tour FedEX Cup playoffs don’t have to go up against the NFL.
Barely has one major finished and we’re off to the next. There’s no time for drama to build. If it’s breathless for me, what’s it like for the players?
I’ve said it before. We should start the calendar with the majors and build the year around those. They’re the tournaments people want to watch. They’re the tournaments that matter.
No one’s staying up until 3am UK time to watch the Shriners Children’s Open, but they will put the eyelids on stalks if it’s a barnstorming finish to a West Coast US Open.
It’s all over far too quick and the best part of the year is still to come. With the fracture in professional golf still not healed, I find it incredibly frustrating we now have to wait so long to see the best players in the world come together once more.
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April, June, August, October. It’s that simple. Let’s make it happen.
Now have your say
What do you make of the men’s major golf championships schedule? Is it too tight, or is it just right? Let me know by leaving me a comment on X.
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