I would probably have to go with the Masters. You have to earn your way into that tournament by being in the top 50. And every player would like to have that green jacket hanging in their closet. Plus there is a certain aura around Augusta that no other major can touch. The U.S. Open is a very close second because every American golfer would like to win their national championship. It's obvious that the least prestigious major for the PGA tour as a whole is the British Open. Some players on tour like Steve Stricter has never even had a desire to go overseas and play in that tournament. The PGA tournament has usually never been set up as tough as a U.S. Open, so I would rate it just above the Open.
The British Open is very prestigious.
Never heard anyone rank the BO 4 out of 4.
World Wide it might be #1
A lot of American players could care less about the Open because it doesn't suit their game. You can't say that for the rest of the majors. The Open is much more of a historic event because of the amount of time it has been around, but I think it's much more prestigious to the Europeans than it is the Americans.
I agree with that but there are a lot of Europeans who feel the same way about the US Open as there are Americans who indifferent to the British Open.
We have 3 majors on this continent plus the Players. I think the Europeans are much more excited to come over here to win and put themselves on the map than American players are to go over to Europe for one major a year. When you win a major on American soil, it opens players up to many more opportunities. Martin Kaymer wins a couple big tournaments in the U.S. and now you see him all over the place doing commercials and media promotions. And probably bringing in many more sponsors than he had before. The U.S. is where the money is.
Masters and it isn't even debatable
I think the fact 3 of the 4 majors are played in the US, you guys are underestimating how much more US golfers there are than Europeans. If you ask every golfer at every major which one they would rather win (many get 4 votes for playing all 4 majors), I bet there is a 2:1 or 3:1 ratio on US to European golfers. For that reason it would have to be one of the 3 in US, and I think in America, we love the masters.
You can say prestigious includes those who don't compete in the majors but they shouldn't count. European tour guy that can't qualify for a major barely has more say than chop on determining this.
I think the fact 3 of the 4 majors are played in the US, you guys are underestimating how much more US golfers there are than Europeans. If you ask every golfer at every major which one they would rather win (many get 4 votes for playing all 4 majors), I bet there is a 2:1 or 3:1 ratio on US to European golfers. For that reason it would have to be one of the 3 in US, and I think in America, we love the masters.
You can say prestigious includes those who don't compete in the majors but they shouldn't count. European tour guy that can't qualify for a major barely has more say than chop on determining this.
