Players C'ship doesn't need major label

Every March, as a majority of the world’s best golfers arrive at TPC Sawgrass in Florida, the same question often pops up without much prompting — should The Players Championship be considered golf’s fifth major?

- CHUAH CHOO CHIANG

The PGA Tour, for reasons best known to itself, reignited the debate by launching an ad campaign for its flagship tournament which teased and triggered a few folks with its tagline: March is going to be major.

Not everyone was convinced.

The Players, which begins tomorrow, certainly boasts the strongest field of any tournament albeit some missing LIV Golf stars, and offers the richest prize purse for an individual competition. It checks the box with its distinguished roll of honour where winners include Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino, Greg Norman, Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Adam Scott, Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and Asia's very own KJ Choi and Si Woo Kim. Plus, it is played on an iconic venue designed for drama.

Yet for all its prestige and spectacle, particularly around its closing stretch of holes which features the infamous par-3 17th island green, it sits outside the game's most exclusive club — the four traditional majors comprising the Masters, PGA Championship, US Open and Open Championship.