Russell Henley appears to back the PGA Tour’s stance that The Players Championship deserves major status.
Last month, the PGA Tour released a trailer for The Players Championship featuring the tagline: ‘March is going to be major’, which didn’t go unnoticed.
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Brandel Chamblee even went as far as ranking The Players above the four majors, a view that drew plenty of pushback. Phil Mickelson was among those who disagreed with Chamblee’s opinion.
Russell Henley shares his view on whether The Players Championship is a major
Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
Henley, speaking ahead of his Arnold Palmer Invitational title defence, explained why he has no issue putting the TPC Sawgrass event on par with the sport’s four biggest tournaments.
“I think it’s a major. It’s our home tournament. I don’t know the statistics on what they say, like best field in golf or whatever, but, I mean, it is. And the history with that tournament? I mean, I’ve always considered that a major in my mind,” he said.
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“It’s just such a tricky golf course and it rewards great shots, typically. It visually is very intimidating. I feel like if you have a good week there you’ve done a lot of really good things.”
“You look at the past champions and nobody is really, it hasn’t really favored any one player. People typically don’t win it back-to-back, unless you’re Scottie. But yeah, it’s a tournament I always look forward to, I love the challenge of it, and yeah, I consider it a major.”
A lot of major champions have won at TPC Sawgrass since 2013
There is a case to be made for The Players Championship being considered a major.
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TPC Sawgrass is an incredible course, especially when it comes to the closing stretch. And if you look at the recent winners, there’s no doubt that it’s one of the hardest tournaments to win.
McIlroy and Scheffler have split the last three between them. And 10 of the last 12 champions have also got their hands on one of golf’s four biggest prizes.
Cam Smith is the only player from that group who became a major winner after picking up his victory at The Players.
The argument could be made that any new major should be played outside of America, considering all four majors are already held in the US.
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But there may be plenty who would back The Players getting elevated status if it meant the PGA Championship started moving around to different countries.
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