Table of Contents
Major tournaments
Three major tournaments are held in the USA, one major tournament in Great Britain. Only the US Masters in Augusta in the US state of Georgia have been held on the same course since 1934. The other three majors are played on alternating courts:
– US Masters in Augusta (USA)
– US Open Championship (USA)
– British Open Championship or just Open Championship (GB)
– PGA Championship (USA)
PGA Grand Slam
The PGA Grand Slam was the most exclusive golf tournament in the world. The winners of the four major tournaments over 36 holes competed against each other. The prize money was rather low compared to other tournaments, but even the fourth-placed player was awarded 200 000 US dollars in prize money. Only five players have managed to win several Grand Slams so far; the player with the most wins, seven in total, is the American Tiger Woods, for whom nothing more needs to be written. Since 2014, however, the Grand Slam is no longer held, it remains to be seen whether there will be a sequel. Nevertheless, this tournament series could not be missed and Tiger Woods has been able to record the most successes so far: He has already won seven times.
World Golf Championships (WGC)
The World Golf Championships (WGC) was established in 1999 by the International Federation of PGA Tours. There is a total of 8.5 million dollars to be won in each of the four tournaments. The tournaments in detail are:
– WGC-Dell Match Play Championship (WGC Match Play) (Arizona)
– Cadillac Championship (Florida)
– Bridgestone Invitational (Ohio
– HSBC Champions (Shenzhen/ China)
FedEx Cup
To make the PGA Tour more interesting, the FedEx Cup was created in 2007. The winner is determined in playoff mode. The best player of the season will win ten million US dollars. This is the highest prize money in golf.
PGA European Tour
The PGA European Tour, organized by the Professional Golfer’s Association, is the leading golf tournament series in Europe. It represents the highest division of three European tournament series, which, starting only in Europe, is now played worldwide with the exception of North America. The participants are determined by the European golf ranking list. It is one of the most highly endowed golf tournaments of all, with prize money of 8 million US dollars, making it one of the absolute top events in golf that should not be missed. The counterpart to the European Tour for the ladies is the Ladies European Tour. Qualification is also based on the ranking list of the best female golfers and special tour tickets for the 90 most successful players of the previous year.
PGA Tour
The PGA Tour is the North American counterpart of the PGA European Tour and is therefore the most important tournament series in North America. It includes the four tournaments US Masters, US Open, PGA Championship and the British Open, also known as the majors among golf cracks. Except for the British Open, all these tournaments take place on changing courses in the USA, the US Masters of which are always held in Augusta, Georgia. The British Open is the oldest golf tournament in the world. The Open in the tournament title always stands for the fact that besides professional players also amateur players can qualify, even if this is of course rather rare. But exactly this possibility has already caused one or two surprises in the past.
LPGA Tour
The Ladies Professional Golf Association Tour (LPGA Tour) is the most important tour in ladies golf. On the LPGA Tour, the best women golfers in the world play for about 50 million dollars in prize money. There have been five major tournaments here since 2013.
Ladies European Tour (LET)
Although this tournament series for professional female golfers is hosted by the Ladies European Tour, the tournaments also take place in Asia, Australia, South Africa or Dubai. The two highlights of the LET are “The Evian” in France and the “British Open” in Great Britain.
Ryder Cup
The most important golf team tournament in the world is the Ryder Cup. Every two years the best golfers from the USA and Europe compete against each other. Each team provides twelve players. The special thing: There’s no prize money to be won here. It’s all about victory and honour.
Originally the Ryder Cup was founded as a competitive tournament between Great Britain and the USA and was first held in 1927. This was decided in order to make the relationship more balanced, as Great Britain could only win once between 1935 and 1973. In the overall statistics, the Americans have won 26 and the British and Europeans have won 13 events so far. The remaining two matches ended in a draw. The USA are currently the title holders. The Ryder Cup also has a counterpart for the female golf pros. Also every two years the best female golfers of the USA compete in a team against the best female golfers of Europe in the Solheim Cup.
Solheim Cup
Every two years, the best American female golfers on the Ladies Professional Golf Association Tour (LPGA Tour) and the best European women on the Ladies European Tour (LET) compete against each other in the transatlantic team match play competition. Analogous to its male counterpart, the Solheim Cup has so far been dominated by the Americans with nine to five wins.
Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro
After 112 years, golf became part of the Olympic Games again. For the first time, golf fans in Rio were able to watch their starts and cheer along. The best two national golfers, who can place themselves among the top 59 in the Olympic Golf Ranking (OGR), are always present at the games.
Further tournaments
- German Bank Championship
- Porsche European Open
- BMW Masters
- BMW PGA Championship
- Mercedes Benz Championship
- Travelers Championship
- AT & T National
- Buick open
- Memorial Tournament
- Wyndham Championship (PGA tour)
- RBC Canadian Open (PGA tour)
- Crown Plaza Invitational (PGA tour)
- OMEGA Dubai Dessert Classic