When it comes to major debate, few are as qualified as Rory McIlroy.
So, if anyone should get a say in whether The Players should be anointed as golf’s fifth major championship, it’s a guy who’s won each of the four actual majors, plus the PGA Tour’s flagship event at TPC Sawgrass.
Spoiler alert: McIlroy likes things the way they are.
“Look, I’d love to have seven majors instead of five, that sounds great,” said McIlroy, who has captured Players titles in 2019 and 2025. “I think The Players is one of the best golf tournaments in the world; I don’t think anyone disputes that or argues that. I think from a player perspective, it’s amazing. I think from an on-site fan experience it’s amazing. It’s an amazing golf course, location, venue.
“But I’m a traditionalist, I’m a historian of the game. We have four major championships.”
The grand slam has evolved since the initial quadrilateral featuring the U.S. Open, Open Championship, U.S. Amateur and British Amateur. There was a time when the Western Open, Canadian Open and Met Open were considered part of the slam, though the modern grand slam materialized shortly after the establishment of the Masters in 1934 and was widely recognized by 1960 when Arnold Palmer suggested he’d love to add The Open and PGA to his Masters and U.S. Open titles that year.
The first Players Championship was held in 1974.
After the PGA Tour rolled out an ad campaign last week for this year’s Players with the slogan, “March is going to be major,” a Tour spokesperson told Golf Digest via statement, “Ultimately, it is up to our sport and its fans to recognize what the professionals who play the game already know.”
McIlroy pointed to the LPGA, which moved to five majors when it added the Evian Championship in 2013. It was a financial decision more than anything else, though the Evian has frequently had its major worthiness criticized.
“I don’t know how well that went for them,” McIlroy said.
Also catching a stray in McIlroy’s argument was the PGA Championship, which McIlroy has won twice.
“It’s The Players, it doesn’t need to be anything else,” McIlroy said. “I would say it’s got more of an identity than the PGA Championship does at the minute. So, from an identity standpoint, I think The Players has got it nailed. It’s an amazing tournament in its own right, and I don’t think it being classified a major or not a major makes it any more or any less. I’m still very proud to have won that tournament twice, as I’m sure all the other champions are. It stands on its own without the label, I guess.”
As for the PGA, McIlroy would be in favor of major change.
“I think glory’s last shot,” McIlroy said. “I think it needs to go back to August.”
March is going to be, well,