Random thoughts on this year's golf majors.
Some post The Open Championship comments on this year’s golf majors. I know it’s a long read, but I wanted to record some random thoughts.
Major of the Year: The Masters
Not even close. Rory completing the Career Slam in a playoff, at Augusta, on his 11th attempt. Not only that, The Masters gave us the best leaderboard of the year with Rory, Scottie and Bryson all in the top 5.
Minor of the Year: The US Open
Great venue, terrific crowds but not much excitement other than 1 putt late on Sunday. The US Open lacked excitement but that’s what happens when the USGA sets up their host clubs so difficult (2 putt pars win US Opens but aren’t very exciting for viewers and spectators). It also hurt that it was the year’s weakest Major leaderboard. I mean, the 25th ranked player in the world at the time won the thing. The only top 5 player with a chance to win on Sunday was Russell Henley. Yeah, I don’t know him either. I’d rather watch Scottie run away with the PGA or Open. At least we got to cheer for some birdies. Sorry.
Best Venue: Augusta National
Beautiful, familiar, immaculate, iconic. I mean, it’s always going to be the best Major venue, except in years The Open Championship is at The Old Course and then at least there is a debate.
Weakest Venue: Quail Hollow Club
The PGA continues to make such odd course choices for its signature tournament. Not sure who thinks going to the #126th best course in the US, that is already the host course for the Truist Championship every season, is such a good choice. So many better ones. I see the PGA continues the tradition of odd course choices with Aronimink and PGA Frisco in 2026 and 2027. Boo! At least they’ve got the sense to go to The Olympic Club, Baltusrol, Congressional and The Ocean Course after that.
Major Player of the Year: Scottie Scheffler, obviously.
Just look at the numbers.
The Masters: 4th
PGA Championship: 1st
US Open: T7th
The Open Championship: 1st
That’s the best Major season since Tiger won 3 of 4 in 2000. The comparisons to Tiger are starting. What’s crazy is that it took 34 years between Nicklaus achieving the career slam and Tiger getting his, then another 25 years for Rory’s. Scottie could get his next year at the US Open at Shinnicock Hills, 14 months after Rory’s. That’s crazy. It took Tiger 4 years to get his career slam. Jack took 5 years. If Scottie wins it next year he will have done it in 5 years. He’s starting to enter the conversation of all time greats, and he’s only 29.
Dishonorable Mention: Cam Smith
This guy. Man. The only player to play in all 4 majors this season who missed the cut in all of them too. In 2022 he won The Open Championship, was ranked #2 in the world, was seemingly poised for greatness, and then he signed with LIV. I hope it was worth it. He’s now missed the cut in 5 straight Majors. He gets to keep his exemption for The Open Championship until he turns 60 so good for him, but his exemptions to the other Majors run out in 2027 so he’s quickly fading out of the discussion.
Looking ahead to next year and beyond, some predictions:
Active Major winners who will never win another one. Just hunches but I've seen enough to beleive these guys are done winning Majors....Cam Smith, Jordan Speith, Brooks Koepka, Hideki Matsuyama, JJ Spaun, Dustin Johnston, Pat Reed, Justin Thomas, Gary Woodland, Shane Lowry.
I know it won’t happen, but a dream Thursday-Friday group at The Masters would be Scottie, Rory and Bryson.
Scottie wins the US Open, completing his career grand slam. If he wins The Masters, look out. The Grand Slam could be in play.
Replies to: Random thoughts on this year's golf majors.
I hope Spieth is not done but he needs to get his head together on the short putts. He hits a lot of
terrific second shots. He is also longer than he used to be. If he is philosophically like Scheffler though, having his third kid may have finished him. That was what was amazing about Jack, he did it with a large, growing family and he had 19 seconds along with the 18 wins and was still a great family man.
Nice post. For me 2025 majors will be memorable (in a bad way) for course selection.
Augusta is beautiful and thankfully static on the docket each year, but in the other three majors where there was a choice, they could have done better.
Quail Hollow - I agree.
Oakmont - No course on a highway should even be considered. Sorry. Too many more worthy choices.
Royal Portrush - Not a fan of courses that rely on quirkiness and weather.
I do love the players these days. Beautiful swings, great athletes.
I just wish that there was one major that was totally static wrt clubs and ball technology. That way, we could compare all time favorites (mine is Jack Nicklaus) to the players of today (I wish that they would do that with tennis also).
More worthy than Oakmont? Whatya nuts?
It's hosted the US Open more than any other course, and rightly so.
It is consistently ranked as one of the greatest courses in the world.
Only because its old & influential. I’m guessing Carnegies?
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Read up on Fownes.
"What makes it so fun is that Oakmont's greens are so true. They are the most perfect greens in the world. There's no grain. They're magnificent, complex and not easy to read. There are multiple greens within some greens."
No less an authority than Ben Crenshaw said they were the best, toughest greens in the world.
Given Oakmont's age and how the sport of golf has changed, one of its most remarkable characteristics is its timelessness. It only plays 280 yards longer in this Open than it did in 1927. And the variation in scores since World War II is hard to believe.
Since Hogan won with a 283 in 1953, the winning scores have been 283 (Nicklaus, 1962), 279 (Miller, 1973), 280 (Nelson, 1983), 279 (Els, 1994) and 285 (Cabrera, 2007). That's a six-shot variation in the past 63 years, a fact which puts to bed any idea that weather conditions will drastically shift conditions. Past Oakmont Opens have seen rain, heat and wind, yet the scores stay the same. It's because the greens dry out quickly and the rain makes a confounding course all the more confusing.
History says the winner is going to be a player with the talent to stay straight, be in a spot on the fairway to get his approach below the hole, avoid too many three-putts and will shoot between one-under and five-over. Or, to be more succinct and to adhere to the century-old tradition at Oakmont, the guy holding the trophy on Sunday will be whoever plays the fewest shots poorly.
Fox News
Full disclosure: Johnson shot a 276 in 2017. Spaun 279 in 2025.
Still remarkable consistency
I back down.Are you from the Pittsburgh area?
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It's all good. Enjoy!
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Links courses look awkward on TV.
But once you play them, you appreciate their subtlety. Courses like Royal Portrush or Carnoustie or St. Andrews, visually, aren't much to look at from the air, or even if you're walking by not actually playing the course. But from the tee blocks, or the fairway, or a greenside bunker you get a full appreciation for just how difficult they are on their own. Not tricked up with unplayable rough, or stimped up greens. Just really subtle, raw toughness through the contouring, bunker placement, mounding and fescue that demand creativity from players.
The weather is an element for sure. But golf is an outdoor sport. Weather has to play a part.
"Not tricked up with unplayable rough, or stimped up greens."
If you don't like the US Open set up why did you come to Oakmont?
Or any other US Open?
Tiger is quoted as saying "“There is no faking about Oakmont”
Indeed.
Agree, the US Open is the premier golf tournament.
Oakmont is a beautiful course, people who constantly cry about it being too hard are laughable.
I do recall Bethpage greens being so slippery one yr that players needed climbing gear & pitons :)
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Shinnecock 2004 was ridiculous.
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I like the tournaments that are won closer to par.
The yelling, the crying, and the club-smashing make for a great watch.
The Euros hate the US Open. With good reason.
American golfers are the Best in the World. The Euros win few majors. If they played as hard as they cried, they might have a chance. They are mentally weak.
That is a plus.
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The Golden Bear agrees.
Multiple major champion Jack Nicklaus has defended Oakmont after multiple complaints about the course-set up from players at the 2025 US Open.
Several top golfers openly criticized the brutal set-up at the third men's major of the year which saw only four players reach red figures after 54 holes.
Former US Open champion Matthew Fitzpatrick told reporters he believed Oakmont was 'straight unfair' and didn't necessarily reward good shots.
Hot mics picked up former champion golfer of the year and European Ryder Cup star Shane Lowry saying 'f--- this place' after a missed putt.
PGA Tour winner Jhonattan Vegas said the rough was 'unplayable' before the major began and Michael Kim expressed a dim view of the 'Mickey Mouse' greens.
Nicklaus, who claimed the first of 18 major wins in 1962 at Oakmont, took a completely different view.
In the Golden Bear's opinion, a golf course is not good unless it doesn't 'yield to good golf'.
"We talk about Oakmont and how difficult is it, but Oakmont has yielded," he told Sirius XM PGA Tour radio.
"It yielded 63 to Johnny Miller, yielded 65 yesterday [to Sam Burns and] I think 66 [to JJ Spaun] on the first day."
"To me, a golf course is not a good golf course if it can't yield to good golf.
"So Oakmont, to me, not only is a tough golf course, but it's a good golf course and that to me is the test."
Just hit the ball straight and you'll be fine.
Link: https://www.bing.com/videos/riverview/relatedvideo?q=reed+albatross+us+open&mid=D62753ED3A5A40CD9D1AD62753ED3A5A40CD9D1A&FORM=VIRE
Spaun birdied 17 and 18 in the rain.
He had a terrible start and fought back.
You like birdie golf and big names.
I like great shots under pressure.
That includes scrambling to make a par.
The US Open is consistently the best.
Nicklaus and Tiger have said that.
.
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