It is difficult to say when the criteria was amended to include the current four events, although many believe it was during Arnold Palmer’s incredible 1960 season.Īfter winning the Masters and the US Open to begin the season, Palmer stated that if he could win the Open Championship and the PGA Championship to end the season, he would complete “his own grand slam” to challenge Bobby Jones’ 1930 performance. But with the advent of the Masters Tournament in 1934 and the emergence of professional golf in the late 1940s and 1950s, the phrase “major championships” came to refer to the Masters, the US Open, the Open Championship, and the PGA Championship. The Majors were originally comprised of two British events, The Open Championship and The Amateur Championship, and two American tournaments, The Open Championship and The Amateur Championship. While the modern accepted definition of the majors has only existed since the 1960s, victories in these tournaments have been retrospectively recognised by all major sanctioning organisations. Fifty-six different players have won a golf major since 2000 – but how many of them can you name?Īs of the 2023 Open Championship, 232 golfers have won one of men’s professional golf’s four professional Major championships.

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