Mirror, Mirror, On the Wall, Which is the Greatest Major of Them All?

I'll admit it, I'm the type of guy who could sit and watch 4 straight days of Championship Golf, and enjoy every second of it. In fact, this weekend was one of my favorite events of the year, the American Century Celebrity Golf Tournament, where Charles Barkley, the owner of the world's worst swing, lost by over 150 points to Chris Chandler in the Modified Stableford System (trust me, if you're not a golf nut, it's not even worth trying to learn the real Stableford System, much less the modified one), and next week is The British Open, or The Open Championship as they call it across the pond.

That being said, from May thru August, the four most important events of the year are played, The Masters, The U.S. Open, The British Open, and the PGA Championship. However, what's really starting to get on my nerves is when Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Gary Player each appear in the "History of the Tournament Highlight Reel" for each of them, proclaiming why the particular tournament that's being played that week is the most important for the players, and also the most historically relevant. While I can understand that networks are trying to push their product, and are trying to gain ratings in an era where ratings = more advertisers = more money, I wish the golfers wouldn't sell out their true feelings just for the sake of ABC, NBC or CBS.

It's perfectly fine to love one tournament more than another, and there are perfectly good reasons to love all four majors:

The Masters - Played every year on perhaps the 2nd most famous golf course in the world (other than St. Andrews), Augusta National. The memories of events that took place 50 years before can be relived on a yearly basis with players hitting virtually the same shots as their predecessors. Well, maybe not the same after Augusta "Tiger-proofed" the course after he won in '97. But I digress. I mean come on, what other place can wearing a green jacket be considered a good thing?

U.S. Open - This is our Open Championship. Any Joe Schmoe with a 1.4 handicap (OK, maybe Joe Schmoe is a little harsh) can attempt to qualify for this tournament. On top of that, the United States Golf Association takes this opportunity to make everybody playing in this tournament look completely foolish. With rough as high as your knees and greens that create about as much friction as ice, this is without a doubt the hardest test in golf.

British Open - It is the oldest championship in professional golf, and therefore has the most history. Dating well back into the 1800's, this championship has seen its triumphs, such as Harry Vardon winning a record 6 in the early 20th century to John Daly coming out of nowhere to win in '95. However, the British Open has also seen the greatest collapse in the history of sports, when in '99, Jean Van de Velde blew a 3 stroke lead on the 18th hole, and lost in a playoff. The British Open returns to Carnoustie next week, where the collapse occurred.

PGA Championship - Now, maybe it's just me, but this tournament does not seem to get the kind of love that the other three do. Number one, it's got the best trophy in all of golf, the Wannamaker Trophy, two, it allows PGA professionals who spend their time helping old ladies at the driving range break 50 yards with a driver the opportunity to show that they can compete with the best in the world, and three, it housed perhaps the greatest finish in golf history when Tiger Woods and Bob May battled in an epic playoff duel in 2000.

So, when I was growing up, there was one tournament that I dreamed about playing in and still do today, and that's the U.S. Open. I love seeing professional golfers struggle like I do on a daily basis, and I love the fact that if I got good enough, I could attempt to play in it, which is a goal of mine down the road. The Masters is always fun to watch, and the British Open is great fun because it's a different style of course than those you see in the U.S., but you've got to wake up so early to watch it. The PGA Championship seems like it's not built for the public, simply the club that the elite belong to, which is likely why it does not get the same status that the others do. Nonetheless, they all help shape the history of golf, and make it such a great game.