The golf world is once again looking at what to do about the odd one of out of the four men’s majors.
The world’s best descend on Aronimink Golf Club in Pennsylvania for the PGA Championship this week for the second major of the year with plenty of storylines in the spotlight.
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The PGA Championship has been the major of the unusual in recent years.
Phil Mickelson became the oldest major champion at age 50 at Kiawah Island in 2021.
Two years ago, Scottie Scheffler was arrested and taken to jail before making it back to the course in time for his second round tee time at Valhalla.
A year later, the world No.1 won his first Wannamaker Trophy as Rory McIlroy endured a standoff with the media during his post-Masters breakthrough slump.
Overshadowing all of the bizarre incidents, however, has been the ongoing debate around how the PGA Championship fits into the golf schedule.
The tournament has been around for 110 years, but many feel it is lacking identity compared to the other majors.
The Masters is a behemoth and the spotlight on Augusta National every April seems to be shining brighter every year.
The US Open is going nowhere as America’s national open and the toughest test of the world’s best every year.
The Open, meanwhile, is the game’s oldest championship and rotates around historic links courses in the United Kingdom to see how modern players handle the game in traditional conditions.
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The PGA Championship, on the other hand, lacks such a natural connection and it’s why many in the golfing world want it to change to formulate a more distinct identity.
In 2019, the tournament moved from its usual August spot to May.
With golf returning to the Olympics in 2016, the change was justified as shifting away from that event every four years.
But it also created a more condensed major schedule, meaning there is a major every month from April to July.
As a result, the PGA Championship’s slogan of ‘glory’s last shot’ had to be dropped.
McIlroy wants it back.
Speaking about this year’s Players Championship, McIlroy said that he feels like the annual PGA Tour showpiece at TPC Sawgrass has more of an identity than the PGA Championship.
Pressed on how to solve that, the career grand slam winner replied: “I think glory’s last shot. I think it needs to go back to August.”
McIlroy is not the only person who thinks the tournament should return to its roots.
Golf Digest’s Jamie Kennedy believes the event should go back to being played in the match play format – as it was until 1957.
“No gimmicks, no byes, just straight, knockout matchplay,” Kennedy wrote.
He added: “We have the four PGA professionals as potential Cinderella upsets in the first round. Imagine, for example, the possible hype surrounding McIlroy or Scheffler going up against folk hero Michael Block.
“If everything went by form – and it never does – the final four could be fantastic, Ryder Cup-esque singles showdowns, with McIlroy facing Young and Scheffler taking on Fitzpatrick. Then would you cheer for a mixed final, All-European or All-American?
“Regardless of that and regardless of the match-ups, there is potential here. The PGA Championship seemingly still searches for a defining hook among the major championships. Perhaps, for them, the answer lies in their past.
“It’ll never happen. But imagine for a second it did.”
Outside of the Ryder Cup and the Presidents Cup, broadcasters and sponsors tend to despise match play given less golf is played over the weekend.
That is why the change was made almost seven decades ago in the first place.
What seems like a more plausible solution is for the PGA Championship to leave America.
For a global game, having three of the four majors in the United States has long irked many passionate people in the sport.
By comparison, tennis’ four grand slams are played in four different countries.
Golf’s American-centrism led to the formation of LIV with Australian legend Greg Norman first suggesting a world tour during his playing days.
With LIV enjoying bumper crowds in Adelaide and Johannesburg this year, combined with massive galleries at Royal Melbourne last December as McIlroy played the Australian Open, the Americans are beginning to open their eyes to the prospect of playing elsewhere.
Former professional turned commentator Brandel Chamblee caused a stir earlier this year with his comments that The Players Championship is the fifth major.
And he also shared that he would be open to the PGA taking baby steps in efforts to branch out.
“I don’t know why the PGA Championship doesn’t move around the world once every five years,” Chamblee said.
“Because the PGA represents the Professional Golfers’ Association. They have that in Europe, they have that in Japan. They have that all over the world.
“It should move around to reflect the Professional Golfers’ Associations of Japan, or Korea, of Australia.”
Talking about the major schedule, former European Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley shared that he is uncomfortable with the US domination.
“I’d like to see it on the road,” McGinley said.
“The jobs of the major championships is to broadcast the sport around the world and that means people coming to watch it.
“We don’t get that opportunity at the moment.
“Scottie Scheffler, the best player in the game, hardly ever goes on the road.”
He later added: “We’ve got to throw our eye out to the rest of the world.
“I’m looking at Japan, I’m looking at Korea, maybe Australia.
“Maybe not Europe because we have The Open there already.
“This is a global game, remember. It’s not an American-centric game.”
As Chamblee pointed out, there are PGAs in more than 80 countries around the globe.
But it would require greater co-operation from the PGA of America with their counterparts in other parts of the world.
At the moment, that unfortunately does not look like changing, according to Fox Golf expert analyst Paul Gow.
“It is 100 per cent, no,” Gow said.
“They feel that like (the US) is where golf should be played for three of the majors of the year and it’s been like that for a lot of years. They say we don’t need to travel to play the PGA Championship.
“But if they were serious, the PGA of America, they would move it, and I think that would give them a better identity around the world with this event.
“Augusta has their thing. It is one golf coursre every time. The Royal and Ancient have got the Open Championship and they have got their historic rotation. Then you have got the US Open, and it’s always around a tough golf course in America. It’s just brutal. It’s always a true test of golf. I’ve played two US opens and they just belt you up. It’s just tough. So that’s their identity.
“Now, I think if the PGA of America wanted an identity, they should move it to golf courses around the world and have PGA members from Australia, Japan, Europe that would play into that.
“The PGA of America own the event. This is club professionals, teaching professionals. This is their event. That’s why I think there’s 20 odd in the field. The Michael Blocks of the world who are the the backbone of the golfing industry.
“They are the ones who meet and greet your members from every golf course, your guests from around the world. They’re the ones. They’re the backbone. They’re the front liners, not the tour players. The tour players are just there for entertainment.
“So they’ve got a real chance here to take it around the world to different PGA locations. Give four or five starts to that local location and let the Americans fly over there who qualify for it. I think it’s a fantastic idea. And if the PGA of America were brave, they’d do it, because then they would get the identity that they should get.
“Moving the event to second helps because when it was the fourth, it was almost the forgotten event. I reckon this would be just absolutely awesome. But I’m sure they’re really just worried about keeping the tradition at home.”
At Royal Melbourne last year, 2013 Masters champion Adam Scott told foxsports.com.au that Australia is ready to step up.
“We have the venues to handle it,” the former world No.1 stated.
McIlroy, meanwhile, caused a stir earlier last year by saying: “The Australian Open, for example, should almost be the fifth major.”
The Northern Irishman, who is returning to Melbourne in December for this year’s Australian Open at Kingston Heath, certainly believes Australia could handle hosting a PGA Championship.
“The market down there is huge with potential,” he continued.
“They love golf. They love sport. They have been starved of top-level golf. And the courses are so good.”