The world’s biggest golfing tournaments for men

Looking for a rundown of the world’s biggest men’s golf competitions and the hottest events of a professional male golfer’s year? Look no further - here are the four major men’s golf tournaments in a golfer’s calendar, and a couple of extra ones for good measure.

The four major PGA golf tournaments

The four major PGA golf tournaments in the golfing diary chronologically are the Masters (April), the PGA Championship (May), The US Open (June), and The Open (July). Let’s take a closer look at each one below.

The Masters Tournament

The Masters started in 1934 and is hosted at Augusta National Golf Club, Augusta, Georgia, USA. Over four days in April and packed with rich traditions, the world’s elite golfers compete to win a place in the Masters history and are given the prized iconic green jacket that is awarded to the competition winner.

PGA Championship

Next up in May, the men’s major PGA Championship is the tournament on everyone’s lips. It’s the only tournament of the four majors that’s exclusively for professional players, and is hosted across various courses in the United States. It’s unsurprisingly organised by the PGA, and sometimes it is referred to as either the US PGA Championship or simply the USPGA. It started out being played in August, but in 2019 it moved to May. With a prize pot of $11 million, winners are eligible for the PGA Championship for life and automatically allowed to play in the three other majors for the following five years.

The US Open

Held by the USGA at various golf courses in the United States in June, the United States Open Championship is known for challenging course setups (4 rounds on an 18-hole course, with a premium placed on accurate driving) and is on the official schedules of the PGA Tour and the European Tour. With the prize pot sitting at a staggered $20 million, it’s the biggest of the four major championships.

It’s important to know what part of the course your ball is lying on, as it may affect what you can and can’t do in that situation.

The Open Championship

The prestigious Open Championship, otherwise known as the British Open, is organised by the R&A, and held in July across a rotating schedule of UK golf courses. Dating back to 1860 when it was hosted at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland, it’s the oldest of the four major golfing championships. The Open is the fourth and final major tournament of the year, and it’s called the Open as it is theoretically open to professional and amateur golfers. But, in reality, only a few of the world’s leading amateurs get to take part - by qualification or invitation only. The winner gets crowned ‘Champion Golfer of the Year’, and is awarded the Claret Jug.

And the others… The Ryder Cup

Played either in Europe or the US on a rotating basis, the Ryder Cup is held every two years and uses a team-based match-play format. It’s hotly contested and, having last been played in Italy in 2023, is next scheduled for 2025. English businessman Samuel Ryder originally donated the trophy, hence the name.

The Presidents Cup

Rotating between international locations and hosted every two years (on an alternate schedule to the Ryder Cup), the Presidents Cup is a men’s match-play team competition that has been held since 1994 and is based on the Ryder Cup format. There’s no money for winners in the prize fund for this one - net proceeds are instead distributed to nominated charities.

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