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Golf Monthly
Golf Monthly
Sport
Michael Weston

'Replace It With A Non-US-Based World PGA Event' - Golf Fans Suggest How To Improve PGA Championship

A yellow PGA Championship 1 flag flapping in the wind.

"Move it around the globe. Start with Royal Melbourne." That's just one suggestion we received in response to our post on Thursday that it feels like the PGA Championship was "lacking juice".

What can be done to improve the second men's Major Championship of the season? It's a question that often gets asked at this time of the year. Even when the tournament was held in August, there has been this feeling that the PGA Championship lacks a defining identity.

Not everyone shares this opinion, but a lot of golf fans rate the other three men's Major Championships as significantly better than the PGA Championship.

So, we asked what could be done to give this tournament a bit more pizzazz - and we got some interesting replies.

The idea that the PGA Championship could 'tour' the world each year has been suggested before.

Three of the four men's Major Championships (The Masters, US Open and PGA Championship) are played in the United States, so having a 'roaming' Major Championship might boost its appeal.

"Scrap it as a major and replace it with a non US based World PGA event that is played on top PGA courses around the world," said another.

"US has and continues to be the force behind golf, but it's time to expand the majors wider."

Before reviewing some of the other responses, it's worth stating that this is a tournament that routinely boasts one of the strongest fields of the year.

Some of the game's greatest players have lifted the famous Wanamaker Trophy, including Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, and Rory McIlroy.

However, the tournament is often accused of having the same feel as a regular PGA Tour event, which isn't helped when certain courses are used frequently.

"Quail Hollow is average and we see it every year on the PGA Tour," came one reply. "Bring the tournament to an international venue at least once every four years."

It might be an intriguing suggestion, but given that the PGA Championship is run by the Professional Golfers' Association of America, it seems unlikely that the tournament will ever leave the United States.

Some suggest that the tournament was better when it was played in August, when it was the last men's Major of the season.

With its late summer/autumn slot, it did have that feeling of being the one last opportunity of the season to win a career-defining title.

Indeed, the PGA Championship was billed as 'Glory's Last Shot' before being moved to May, just a few weeks after The Masters.

"I still think part of the PGA's identity is playing it in August (Glory's Last Shot). Instead they were supplanted by the FedEx Cup Playoffs, where you can finish in last place and still advance to the next event," was another reply.

"About as exciting as paint drying, but it's rammed down out throats every year."

One suggestion that we hadn't heard was a different playing format, so it's not just another 72-hole strokeplay event.

"Its always going to be the 4th most important major, you cant change that. Maybe change it back to a matchplay format to give it a point of difference to the big 3 majors?"

Despite being a winner on the PGA Tour, Frenchman Matthieu Pavon is one of the lesser-known names on the leaderboard (Image credit: Getty Images)

Some golf fans appear to feel shortchanged when the bigger names and Major champions aren't in contention.

Although the PGA Championship has given us a few shock winners over the years - including Jeff Sluman, Y.E. Yang, Shaun Micheel, and Rich Beem - does this really make the tournament less of a spectacle?

"Too many no names makes for a boring leaderboard," one person posted, and there were a lot more comments of a similar nature.

Perhaps one user has a point when they said, "If everyone keeps b******* about it and sensationalizing the somewhat fake narrative of it being blah....then sure it will manifest into a bigger issue than what it is.

"Just enjoy the dam tournament complainers!"

On that note, we're off to watch the third round of what's shaping up to be an interesting PGA... isn't it?

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