The Masters Tournament is one of the four men's major golf championships in professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week in April, the Masters is the first major golf tournament of the year. Unlike the other major tournaments, the Masters is always held at the same location: Augusta National Golf Club, a private course in the city of Augusta, Georgia.
The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later the venue rotated between a select group of coastal links golf courses in the United Kingdom. It is organised by The R&A.
The United States Open Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Open, is the annual open national championship of golf in the United States. It is the third of the four men's major golf championships, and is on the official schedule of both the PGA Tour and the European Tour. Since 1898 the competition has been 72 holes of stroke play, with the winner being the player with the lowest total number of strokes. It is staged by the United States Golf Association (USGA) in mid-June, scheduled so that, if there are no weather delays, the final round is played on the third Sunday. The U.S. Open is staged at a variety of courses, set up in such a way that scoring is very difficult, with a premium placed on accurate driving. As of 2023, the U.S. Open awards a $20 million purse, the largest of all four major championships.
The Grand Slam in professional golf is winning all of golf's major championships in the same calendar year. The only player who has accomplished this feat is Bobby Jones in 1930, winning the four major tournaments of that era: the British Amateur, the British Open, the United States Open, and the United States Amateur. Modern variations include a Career Grand Slam: winning all of the major tournaments within a player's career and the Tiger Slam: winning four consecutive major titles but not in the same calendar year.
The PGA Championship is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers' Association of America. It is one of the four men's major golf championships.
Jack William Nicklaus, nicknamed "the Golden Bear", is a retired American professional golfer and golf course designer. He is widely considered to be either the greatest or one of the greatest golfers of all time. He won 117 professional tournaments in his career. Over a quarter-century, he won a record 18 major championships, three more than second-placed Tiger Woods. Nicklaus focused on the major championships—the Masters Tournament, U.S. Open, Open Championship and PGA Championship—and played a selective schedule of regular PGA Tour events. He competed in 164 major tournaments, more than any other player, and finished with 73 PGA Tour victories, third behind Sam Snead (82) and Woods (82).
Lee Buck Trevino is an American retired professional golfer who is regarded as one of the greatest players in golf history. He was inducted to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1981. Trevino won six major championships and 29 PGA Tour events over the course of his career. He is one of only four players to twice win the U.S. Open, The Open Championship and the PGA Championship. The Masters Tournament was the only major that eluded him. He is an icon for Mexican Americans, and is often referred to as "the Merry Mex" and "Supermex," both affectionate nicknames given to him by other golfers.
Gary Jim Player DMS, OIG is a South African retired professional golfer who is widely considered to be one of the greatest golfers of all time. During his career, Player won nine major championships on the regular tour and nine major championships on the Champions Tour. At the age of 29, Player won the 1965 U.S. Open and became the only non-American to win all four majors in a career, known as the career Grand Slam. At the time, he was the youngest player to do this, though Jack Nicklaus (26) and Tiger Woods (24) subsequently broke this record. Player became only the third golfer in history to win the Career Grand Slam, following Ben Hogan and Gene Sarazen, and only Nicklaus and Woods have performed the feat since. He won over 150 professional tournaments on six continents over seven decades and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1974.
The men's major golf championships, commonly known as the major championships, and often referred to simply as the majors, are the most prestigious tournaments in golf. Historically, the national open and amateur championships of Great Britain and the United States were regarded as the majors. With the rise of professional golf in the middle of the twentieth century, the majors came to refer to the most prestigious professional tournaments.
The Memorial Tournament is a PGA Tour golf tournament founded in 1976 by Jack Nicklaus. It is played on a Nicklaus-designed course at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, a suburb north of Columbus. The golf course passes through a large neighborhood called Muirfield Village, which includes a 1999 bronze sculpture of Nicklaus mentoring a young golfer located in the wide median of Muirfield Drive.
The WGC Invitational was a professional golf tournament that was held in the United States. Established in 1999 as a successor to the World Series of Golf, it was one of three or four annual World Golf Championships (WGC) until 2021, when the number of WGC events was reduced to two.
The World Series of Golf was a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour, played at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio. From its inception in 1962 through 1975, it was an unofficial 36-hole event matching the winners of the four major championships. In 1976 it became an official PGA Tour event; the field expanded to 20 players and the event was lengthened to 72 holes. the victory and $100,000 winner's share went to Nicklaus. The field was increased to over 40 players in 1983, though it never exceeded 50; NEC began sponsoring the event in 1984.
The Senior PGA Championship, established in 1937, is the oldest of the five major championships in men's senior golf. It is administered by the Professional Golfers' Association of America and is recognized as a major championship by both PGA Tour Champions and the European Senior Tour. It was formerly an unofficial money event on the European Senior Tour, but since 2007 has been an official money event. Winners gain entry into the next PGA Championship. The winners prior to 1980, the first season of the senior tour, are not considered major champions of this event by the PGA Tour Champions.
The Players Championship is an annual golf tournament on the PGA Tour. Originally known as the Tournament Players Championship, it began in 1974. The Players Championship at one point offered the highest purse of any tournament in golf. The field usually includes the top 50 players in the world rankings, but, unlike the major championships, it is owned by the PGA Tour and not an official event on other tours.
The Desert Classic is a professional golf tournament in southern California on the PGA Tour. Played in mid-winter in the Coachella Valley, it is part of the tour's early season "West Coast Swing."
The following is a partial timeline of the history of golf.
The WGC Championship was a professional golf tournament that was held between 1999 and 2021. It was one of the three or four annual World Golf Championships until the number of WGC events was reduced to two following the 2021 season.
The PGA Tour is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, as well as the PGA Tour Champions and the Korn Ferry Tour, as well as the PGA Tour Canada, PGA Tour Latinoamérica, and formerly the PGA Tour China. The PGA Tour is a nonprofit organization headquartered in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, a suburb southeast of Jacksonville.
The 1988 Seniors' British Open, for sponsorship reasons also known as the Volvo Seniors' British Open, was a professional golf tournament for players aged 50 and above and the second Seniors' British Open, held from 21 to 24 July at Turnberry Golf Resort in South Ayrshire, Scotland, United Kingdom.
Martin Kaymer 
