The Open Championship vs. Masters

Posted by Alan L. Hammond May 1, 2007

In fact, Americans probably rank The Open Championship ("The British", as we Americans say) third, behind both the Masters and the United States Open. Although "THE" Open lost some luster beginning as far back as Bobby Jones and continuing through the decades dominated by Palmer, Nicklaus, Watson and others, it began a slow, plodding resurgence with Seve Ballesteros and Greg Norman. The number of world-class international golfers has arguably surpassed the number of such players in America.

Due to the equity, possibly even superiority from top to bottom of international and European golfers, that British Open resurgence is in full swing and, once again, the "Just which is the biggest major?" question needs to be addressed.

The Masters Tournament holds an allure like none of the other major golf championships. Names such as Jones, Sarazen, Nelson, Hogan, Palmer, Nicklaus, and Player, because of the men they were and are, the manner in which they often won and the high regard in which they hold the tournament will forever add to the mystique and history of the Masters. As the years pass, Norman (even though he never won), Faldo, Olazabal, Crenshaw, Woods and Mickelson will be included in that same category.

Until recently, much of the mystique and history of The Open had passed into the mist of history. After Bobby Jones’ back-to-back wins at The Open in 1926 and 1927, a steady stream of American golfers began to emerge; Walter Hagen, Gene Sarazen, Sam Snead, and, a bit later, by the prominent group of golfers lead by Hogan and Palmer. By the early 1970's, Americans were establishing their dominance everywhere, including The Open. The rise of the upstart Masters, beginning in 1934, at least in the minds of Americans, coincided with American golf emergence.

With the exception of Tiger Woods, in the last decade American golf has, as stated earlier, been met or even eclipsed by a strong international field. The international resurgence will have a positive impact on the popularity of The Open Championship as it has with the Ryder Cup.

Which is the biggest Major? It depends on who and where you are. It always will. If you’d like to voice your opinion, cast your vote in the poll at the bottom of the Suite 101 Golf hompage.