The Major Championships, often referred to simply as the "Majors" are the four most prestigious annual golf tournaments in men's professional golf.
The oldest of the majors is The Open Championship, which is generally known in the United States as "The British Open". The other three majors all take place in the United States. The Masters is played at the same course every year, but the other three all rotate between courses. Each of the majors has a distinct history, and they are run by four different golfing organistions, but they are all recognized as official events of the world's two most prestigious men's tours, the PGA TOUR, and the PGA European Tour. In order of their playing date the majors are:
- April - The Masters
- June - US Open
- July - The Open Championship
- August - PGA Championship
Alongside the biennial Ryder Cup team competition, the majors are golf's marquee events. Elite players from all over the world participate in them, and the reputations of the greatest male players in golf history are largely based on the number of major victories they accumulate. The top prizes are not actually the largest in golf, being surpassed by the Players Championship and one or two invitational events, but winning a major boosts a player's career far more than winning any other tournament. If he is already a leading player, he will probably receive large bonuses from his sponsors and may be able to negotiate better contracts. If he is an unknown he will immediately be signed up. Perhaps more importantly, he will receive an exemption from the need to annually requalify for a tour card on his home tour. Currently the PGA Tour gives a five year exemption to all major winners, thus giving a tournament golfer some security in an unstable profession.
In recent years The Players Championship, which takes place two weeks before The Masters, has been begun to be boosted as, "The fifth major" by elements of the media. This has not been publicly encouraged by the golfing authorities, but the tournament does attract much the same strength of field as the majors. In addition, three World Golf Championship events were established in 1999, bringing the total number of events in which virtually all of the world's top few dozen players compete against other every year to eight.
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