the 5th major

Once again it's Players week, and once again the debate is out there. Is it, or is it not the 5th major?

The answer is a resounding "NO!"

I wish it was. I wish lots of things that aren't happening. Lots of people around here wish it was. Most of the people in J'ville that have any interest in golf wish it was, but when you bring in the harsh light of reality....no, it's not. At least not yet.

Players kind-of think of it as one. The ones who win it really want it to be one. Some of them that haven't refer to it as one. Ernie Els did yesterday, after triple bogey-ing 17, but caught himself. A reporter caught him leaving after his round and asked him about it and he said they should blow up that hole. Then he said something like..When you're one under going into a hole and you leave two over at a major..uuuuhhh...a tournament like this....

Still, when the tournament is going on and it can't find front page space on ESPN.com, you haven't arrived yet. That's who controls what's a major and what's not. It's not necessarily ESPN alone, but it is the media. They call things majors and that leads the fans to thinking that way, or it might be the other way around, but in either case...there is no official knighting of a tournament that says...you're a major now. It's a perception thing. For now, the PGA TOUR can promote it as one. the players can think of it as one, but until the media and the fans believe it's one, the Players will be the biggest tournament NOT to be a major.