The Four Golf Majors Compared

What makes a major a major?

Every week the world’s best golfers play for trophies and ranking points, but four tournaments sit above the rest. The Masters, PGA Championship, U.S. Open and The Open Championship are the only events that count towards the modern career Grand Slam, the most coveted achievement in golf. They draw the deepest fields, the biggest galleries, the most television coverage and the longest careers’ worth of pressure.

What sets them apart is not just prestige. Each major has its own course setup philosophy, its own season, its own weather and its own type of champion. Win one and you are a major champion forever. Win all four and your name sits beside Sarazen, Hogan, Player, Nicklaus, Woods and now Rory McIlroy.

Side-by-side comparison

A quick reference for how the four majors line up on the things golfers actually care about. Swipe horizontally on a phone to see all the columns.

How each major tests you differently

Tour pros adapt year-round, but most will admit that the four majors ask four different questions. Understanding those questions is half the fun of watching.

Augusta rewards artistry on and around the greens

Fairways at Augusta are generous; greens are not. Slopes, run-offs and shaved chipping areas mean that a missed approach can be a one-shot mistake or a three-shot disaster. The Masters identifies players with creative short games, calm putting and the ability to play recovery shots without losing composure.

The U.S. Open rewards driving accuracy and acceptance

USGA setups punish width off the tee and reward boring, repetitive ball-striking. Champions tend to be players who can take their medicine, lay up to a number, and grind out pars when everyone around them is dropping shots. Aggression rarely wins.

The Open rewards low ball flight and imagination

Links golf is the closest the modern game gets to its origins. Champions know how to flight the ball under the wind, use the ground, judge bouncing approach shots and putt from 50 feet off the green. It is the major where European and Commonwealth golfers feel most at home.

The PGA rewards the complete player

Because PGA setups vary year to year and the field is the deepest in the game, the winner often needs to do everything well — drive, iron, scramble, putt. It is the major most likely to be won by whoever is simply playing the best golf that month.

The Career Grand Slam — golf’s rarest achievement

Only six men in the modern era have won all four professional majors during their careers. It is the highest bar in the sport, harder than total major wins or world number one weeks, because it requires excellence across four completely different challenges.

Gene Sarazen — completed 1935

The first to complete the modern slam. Famously won the 1935 Masters in a playoff after holing a 4-wood for albatross on the 15th hole on Sunday.

Ben Hogan — completed 1953

Did it in a single year. Hogan won the Masters, U.S. Open and The Open in 1953, the closest anyone has come to a calendar Grand Slam.

Gary Player — completed 1965

The first non-American to win all four, travelling more miles in pursuit of majors than anyone of his era.

Jack Nicklaus — completed 1966

Did it three times over. Nicklaus’s 18 professional majors remains the career benchmark for greatness.

Tiger Woods — completed 2000

Did it at age 24, the youngest ever. Followed up by holding all four major titles at once — the “Tiger Slam” of 2000–01.

Rory McIlroy — completed 2025

Eleven long years after his 2014 Open and PGA wins, McIlroy finally captured the Masters in 2025 to join the club. The longest wait between the third and fourth legs in history.

Iconic moments — one from each

Every major produces moments that outlive the leaderboard. A short pick from each.

Masters · Tiger Woods, 2019

Eleven years after his last major, after multiple back surgeries, Woods won at Augusta in front of his children. Sport’s great second-act story.

Masters · Jack Nicklaus, 1986

At 46, Nicklaus shot 30 on the back nine to win his sixth green jacket. Verne Lundquist’s “Yes sir!” still gives golf fans chills.

PGA · Phil Mickelson, 2021

At 50, Mickelson became the oldest major champion ever, taming Kiawah’s Ocean Course on a blustery weekend.

U.S. Open · Jack Nicklaus, 1972 (Pebble Beach)

A 1-iron into the wind on the 17th hole that hit the flagstick and dropped a foot away. Often called the greatest shot ever struck.

The Open · Watson v Nicklaus, 1977 (Turnberry)

The Duel in the Sun. Watson and Nicklaus played the weekend in matching 65-66, finishing 11 and 10 shots clear of the rest of the field.

The Open · Jean van de Velde, 1999 (Carnoustie)

Three shots ahead playing the 72nd hole, van de Velde made triple bogey and lost a playoff. A reminder that the Claret Jug is never won until the last putt drops.

Which major is the toughest? It depends what you mean

The “hardest major” argument never quite gets settled, because each major is the hardest at different things. Here is the case for each.

What every club golfer can take from the majors

You will probably never play Augusta on Masters Sunday, but each major teaches a lesson that translates directly to your weekend game.

• From The Masters — lag putt to a circle, not a cup. On fast, sloping greens, leaving yourself a tap-in is more valuable than chasing the perfect line. Most amateurs three-putt because they leave themselves too much work.
• From the U.S. Open — bogey is sometimes a good score. If your tee shot finds trouble, take your medicine. Pitch out, wedge on, two-putt. The big numbers come from trying to be a hero.
• From The Open — learn one low shot. Even on a calm parkland course, a knockdown 7-iron under tree branches or into a stiff breeze saves rounds. Imagination is a club.
• From the PGA — work on the part of your game you ignore. The complete-game major rewards players with no obvious weakness. For most amateurs, that is short-game work the week before the medal round.