The Majors

The Masters

The Masters Tournament, also known as The Masters or The US Masters, is one of the four major championships in professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week of April, it is the first of the majors to be played each year. Unlike the other major championships, the Masters is held each year at the same location, Augusta National Golf Club, a private golf club in the city of Augusta, Georgia, USA. The Masters was started by Clifford Roberts and Bobby Jones. Jones designed Augusta National with course architect Alister MacKenzie. The tournament is an official money event on the PGA Tour, the European Tour, and the Japan Golf Tour. The field of players is smaller than those of the other major championships because it is an invitational event, held by the Augusta National Golf Club.

Date: 2016
Venue:Augusta National Golf Club, Georgia, USA
Defending Champ:Danny Willett (ENG)
Winner's cheque$1,800,000

US Open

The United States Open Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Open, is the annual open golf tournament of the United States. It is the second of the four major championships in golf, and is on the official schedule of both the PGA Tour and the European Tour. It is staged by the United States Golf Association (USGA) in mid-June, scheduled so that, if there are no weather delays, the final round is played on the third Sunday, which is Father's Day.

The U.S. Open is staged at a variety of courses, set up in such a way that scoring is very difficult with a premium placed on accurate driving. U.S. Open play is characterized by tight scoring at or around par by the leaders, with the winner usually emerging at around even par.

Date: 2016
Venue:Congressional, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
Defending Champ:Dustin Johnson (USA)
Winner's cheque
$1,800,000

Open Championship

The Open Championship, or simply The Open (often referred to as the British Open), is the oldest of the four major championships in professional golf. It is the only major held outside the United States and is administered by the R&A, which is the governing body of golf outside the U.S. and Mexico. Since 1979, The Open has been played on the weekend of the third Friday in July. It is the third major of the calendar year, following The Masters and the U.S. Open, and preceding the PGA Championship.

Date: 2016
Venue:Royal
Defending Champ:Henrik Stenson (SWE)
Winner's cheque
$1,175,000

US PGA Championship

The PGA Championship (sometimes, especially outside of the United States referred to as the U.S. PGA Championship or U.S. PGA) is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers Association of America. It is one of the four major championships in professional golf, and it is the golf season's final major, usually played in mid-August four weeks after The Open Championship. (It was advanced a week in 2007 and 2008 because of local scheduling conflicts.) Due to its distinction as the season's final major, the PGA Championship is nicknamed "Glory's Last Shot".

Date: 2016
Venue:Augusta Athletic Club, Georgia, USA
Defending Champ:Jimmy Walker (USA)
Winner's cheque
$1,800,000