PGA Tour’s provocative new ad suggests rekindling the ‘5 major’ debate

Should The Players Championship be golf’s fifth major?

That’s a question the PGA Tour doesn’t want you to ask.

The Tour released a provocative new video of the players Thursday afternoon during a late window taping of the WM Phoenix Open that sounds like an exercise in subliminal texting.

The opening shot – a head-down shot of JJ Spaun – serves as a response to last year’s dramatic, splashy finish, where Spaun made an inspired charge before his hopes ended at golf’s most famous pool.

Next up is Sepp Straka staring at TPC Sawgrass’ island 17th green. (Why Straka? I’m not really sure, but my best guess is that his was the strongest stare the tour had on file.)

After that the most recent famous players won the tournaments, Scottie Scheffler (who won in 2023 and 2024) then Rory McIlroy (2019 and 2025) and then Justin Thomas (2021), who won three major tournaments and three of the most famous golfers to win the most famous golfers. Smith, now with LIV Golf, is not visible).

The shots are dehydrated, cloudy, noisy, amazing. The word goes over the scenes.

I can’t get it out of my head

Soon you are under water, then you come out, and up into the sky. The greenery of the island is visible in front of you, as well as the surrounding field. There are many people there.

There’s Corey Conners. There is a ball in the water. There is Tony Finau. Another splash. There’s one player in pain, then another. There is Collin Morikawa, so sad that he has taken off his hat. Another splash. Hole one from Shane Lowry. (Remember that?) A grin from Brooks Koepka. (Remember him?) Jump from Ryan Moore. (His days as one of the faces of the tour are numbered.) Then, relax. Uppercut fist pump from Tiger Woods, featuring the “Better-than-tough” era.

Then comes the tag line.

THE MARCH WILL BE HUGE

It doesn’t appear on the screen; blink and you might just miss it. But the message seems pretty clear.

Players described as “great”, at least, is a strong proposition. Flashing this tag line doesn’t happen by accident – especially not on the PGA Tour under new CEO Brian Rolapp, who has started his first season on offense. In recent weeks, the Tour has hired several returning players from LIV and pushed ahead with plans to rethink the program under the leadership of visionaries such as Tiger Woods and Theo Epstein. The latest development is just a piece of marketing material, but it suggests something bigger: Rolapp is increasing the size of the Tour’s opinion board, and in the process, testing the limits of his new impulse.

The players-as-the-fifth-big discussion is not new. It certainly preceded my arrival in the world of golf media. Based on conversations with smart people, the Tour has been blunt about the seriousness of the “big” moniker many times over the years.

Still, it’s easy to see why the Tour would want Players to be big. By most objective measures, the PGA Tour is the strongest and richest tour in the world — but judging by the ownership of golf’s most important (major) events, it comes up empty. The PGA Tour does not own the Masters, the PGA Championship, the US Open, the Open Championship or the Ryder Cup. I doubt Rolapp is too happy with that layout. I doubt the Tour’s private equity partners, either. They would like to have all four majors. At the very least, they would like to own it one.

And so here we are, with the Tour using its marketing tools to test the waters of the major tournament discussion again. Is this a trial balloon — or the start of a planned campaign? Looks like we’re about to find out.

Update: I emailed Tour asking for a comment on the new ad. At the time we published this story, they sent the following statement. The second sentence seems… suggestive:

“Fans and players have been discussing the status of the PLAYERS Championship as an official. We understand that it is not up to us to decide. In the end, it is up to our game and its fans to see if the players who play this game know it.”

For now, it’s worth asking five questions about what the fifth-major players are.

1. Who decides the majors, anyway?

Well, boy, good question. Short version: Some golfers and some writers. It was bitter for a while, but it’s been a largely settled conversation for decades.

There was a time, pre-Masters, when US and British Amateurs were considered elite. In 1930, just four years before Augusta National’s first invitational tournament, Bobby Jones won those two and the US Open and Open Championship and was considered a grand-slam winner.

The modern Grand Slam, according to our insider Michael Bamberger, began in the 1930s but didn’t become a “thing” until 1960, when Arnold Palmer and his favorite sportswriter, Bob Drum, decided on four events while flying in St. Andrews … or so the story goes. There were other top players involved in choosing the majors, and some top sportswriters, too (I write, suddenly, I think of this power), but the power to make such announcements is found mainly in the rise of golf on TV, which raised stars like Palmer and Jack Nicklaus in the authority figures. Of course, that leaves a deep paradox in the structure of the modern slam: The majors are 90 years old and older, but the Grand Slam may not even be 70.

There was still bitterness at the Grand Slam in the ’60s and ’70s, when it was unclear whether Nicklaus should count his US Amateur titles of 1959 and 1961 as majors. But eventually a common language emerged around four major events: the Masters, the PGA, the US Open, and the Open Championship. Horse racing has its Triple Crown, and golf has its Grand Slam, four historic tournaments that run from early spring to late summer.

Majors are “official” in some ways; they are referenced in handbooks, Hall-of-Fame criteria, media guides, Wikipedia pages and the like. But there is no organization or person in charge of amending their definition. It’s a funny thing to think about. They are majors because we all agree they are.

If Players aren’t great, what is is something it?

The players aren’t a car and they weren’t important – but they are is something the next best thing: second in the PGA Tour player rankings. Justin Thomas has two major titles and players. Rory McIlroy has five majors and two singles. Yes, this is a bit big. Rolapp’s quest is to “simplify,” and this can be simplified. But it’s also the way things are; The players are the PGA Tour’s main event… but it’s not the biggest.

It is worth emphasizing how good the Players have become. It’s not just the number 17; TPC Sawgrass is a formidable tournament venue. I wrote that it’s the Florida Masters; we return every year to a familiar place, with famous danger figures, big-time champions, and moments in the spotlight. Cross Rae’s Creek for a green island, then cross Augusta’s historic Ponte Vedra Palace, you get the idea. Crowds are scary, of course i event in town, the coverage feels huge and seems to get bigger every year.

What is the story of players as great players?

I think I just did that. Iconic venue, memorable moments, 50 plus years of history, big time winners, big purse, high TV coverage, big crowds. It is one of the top tournaments on the golf calendar.

About the big thing that works against Players are a big part of its platform. The majors gained momentum in the 2020s because they served as the only meeting ground for stars from the PGA Tour. again LIV. In some ways, it could be argued that what makes 2026 so big is that everything the best players are there. Currently, the Tour only accepts Tour players to compete in Players.

But there is a potentially interesting piece here. This is pure speculation, but if the Players wanted to achieve a bigger position, could it create a qualifying division for the top LIV players and act as a crossover event beyond the tour rivalry? I don’t know. But it seems like you’ll need to open the forum somehow to get into the conversation.

What’s going on against Do they play like adults?

There was a quote, some years ago, from John Feinstein on the Golf Channel: “When you go to Denny’s and you order a Grand Slam, they don’t give you five things, do they?”

You get the idea. A grand slam means four wins in tennis, a grand slam means four runs in baseball, a grand slam means four things to Denny. In golf, the Grand Slam means four events.

The LPGA added a fifth major in the past decade. I would argue that it only muddied the water in terms of important tournaments in its program. Five majors is one too many.

Here’s where I got it: I’m fine with Players being great in the abstract – but I’m not good with five majors. Whether it’s through a duel or a hostile takeover, Players must take down another giant to elevate themselves.

What will happen when he becomes an adult?

We’ll have to do some serious math, for one thing. Nicklaus has won three Masters, so he will have 21 majors. Woods won two of ’em, so he’ll have 17 majors, but he’s well behind Jack.

Fred’s lovers would jump from one to three, as would Steve Elkington, as would Hal Sutton, as would Davis Love III. I think we will get their votes.

Perhaps the biggest change would be among those whose current grand total is zero. Matt Kuchar will suddenly become a major leaguer. So is Rickie Fowler. And Si Woo Kim. And KJ Choi.

Scottie Scheffler will now have six majors. Rory McIlroy will suddenly have seven. On the other hand, Ben Hogan and Gene Sarazen will see their big numbers stuck, as neither player entered the players. Keeping separate points is difficult. Apples and feathers.

I think we’ll hear more about the tour in the coming weeks. I think we will hear about Rolapp himself from the players themselves. I want to know what you will say – and what the word M it is part of it.

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