The term "golf majors" refers to those tournaments in men's golf, women's golf, senior golf and amateur golf that are identified by fans, players, media and history as the most important events on their respective tours. Those golf majors - also commonly referred to as the major championships - define golf seasons, and in many cases, define the careers of the best golfers.
On this page you'll find the identities of the golf majors in each segment of the golf world (men, women, seniors, amateurs), and by checking out the links you'll be able to find the histories of the tournaments, lists of major champions and much more information.
Golf Majors - Men:
The men's golf majors are the most famous and important tournaments in golf. Often, when someone refers to the "golf majors" or "major championships," is it these four events to which the speaker is referring:
• The Masters: The tournament founded by Bobby Jones, and first played in 1934.
• U.S. Open: The American national championship, run by the USGA, and first played in 1895.
• British Open: More properly called The Open Championship and run by the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews.
• PGA Championship: Awarding the Wanamaker Trophy, and first played in 1916.
See also:
List of major winners by year and tournament
All major championship winners listed alphabetically by golfer
Golfers with the most wins in men's majors
Playoffs at major championships
Golf Majors - Women:
There are five majors in women's golf:
• Kraft Nabisco Championship: Originally called the Colgate Dinah Shore when it was founded in 1972.
• LPGA Championship: One of the oldest tournaments in women's golf, founded in 1955.
• U.S. Women's Open: Run by the USGA, and first played in 1946.
• Women's British Open: First played in 1976 and elevated to major championship status in 2001.
• The Evian Championship: First played in 1994 and elevated to major championship status in 2013.
Note that the identities of the women's golf majors have changed multiple times in the history of the LPGA Tour. See our LPGA Majors article for an explanation of those changes.
See also:
Golfers with the most wins in women's majors
Senior Golf Majors:
Only of of the senior golf majors dates farther back than 1980. That's in part because the concept of major championships didn't come to senior golf until the founding of the Champions Tour in 1980. Now, five tournaments in senior golf are designated as major championships:
• The Tradition: The youngest of the senior golf majors, The Tradition was founded in 1989 and immediately counted as a Champions Tour major.
• Senior PGA Championship: The oldest of the senior majors, the PGA of America began this tournament in 1937 (after prodding from Bobby Jones).
• Senior British Open: The proper name is The senior open championship and it is run by the R&A, which added the event in 1987. It has been counted as a senior major since 2003.
• U.S. Senior Open: The USGA added its senior championship only in 1980, which coincided with the founding of the Champions Tour.
• Senior Players Championship: The PGA Tour has The Players Championship, so it makes since that the Champions Tour has The Senior Players Championship.
See also:
Most wins in Champions Tour majors
Amateur Golf Majors:
Two men's amateur tournaments were once, in the early days of professional golf but before pro tournaments gained pre-eminence, considered among the biggest tournaments in all of golf. When Bobby Jones won the Grand Slam in 1930, the four "majors" he won were the U.S. and British Opens, and the U.S. and British Amateurs. It was really only in 1960 (because of an article written by Arnold Palmer) that the modern concept of major championships solidified as the four professional majors of men's golf.
Many traditionalists still view these two men's amateur tournaments as majors, however:
• U.S. Amateur Championship: First played in 1895, and several days older than the U.S. Open (the first Amateur and first Open were played back-to-back).
• British Amateur Championship:: Its proper name is The Amateur Championship. It's run by the R&A and was first played in 1885.
Note that the equivalent tournaments in women's golf - the U.S. Women's Amateur and the British Ladies Amateur - are the biggest events in women's amateur golf. But they have never carried the "golf majors" weight as the men's amateur events have.