The four professional major championships are the heartbeat of the men's golf season, creating legacies and giving us moments we talk about for years. Knowing the order of the majors isn’t just trivia, it’s about understanding the rhythm and narrative of the entire golf year. This guide will walk you through each of the four majors in their typical calendar order, exploring what makes each one so unique, the courses they're played on, and why they hold such a special place in the game.
Before we get into the yearly schedule, let's be clear on what the four majors are. In calendar order, they are:
Winning just one of these events changes a player's life and career forever. A major victory comes with a huge payday, a multi-year exemption onto the PGA Tour, invitations to all the other majors for at least five years, and most importantly, a permanent place in golf history. These are the tournaments every pro dreams of winning, and their order throughout the year creates a four-part drama that captivates golf fans from spring to summer.
From 1973 until 2018, the major calendar followed a very consistent rhythm. But in 2019, a significant change was made when the PGA Championship moved from its long-time August slot to May. This created a more packed and exciting schedule, with one major taking place every month from April through July. Here is the modern-day order of the majors.
The first full week of April signals the true start of the golf season for many fans. The Masters isn't just a golf tournament, it's a spectacle.
Hosted by Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia, The Masters is an invitational built on the pillars of tradition and prestige. It's famous for its impeccable course conditions - flowering azaleas, towering pines, impossibly green grass - and its air of exclusivity. From the ceremonial opening tee shots by legends of the game to the iconic Green Jacket awarded to the winner, every part of the week feels special. It's often described as a "tradition unlike any other," and for good reason.
Augusta National is the only course to host a men's major every single year. This allows fans and players to develop a deep familiarity with its challenges. It’s known for dramatic elevation changes that TV can’t fully capture, and famously fast, sloping greens that punish even a slightly misjudged putt. The back nine is legendary, particularly the stretch of holes known as Amen Corner (holes 11, 12, and 13), where fortunes can be made or lost in a matter of minutes. Winning here requires boldness, creativity, and nerves of steel, especially on Sunday afternoon.
The Masters features the smallest field of the four majors, typically under 100 players. It’s an invitational, meaning players have to meet one of several strict criteria to receive a coveted invitation. These include being a past Masters champion, a winner of another major in the last five years, a recent winner on the PGA Tour, or ranked in the top 50 in the world, among other qualifications.
Following the tradition of The Masters, the calendar moves to the PGA Championship in May. Its move from August has given it a new identity and made the spring season that much more intense.
Historically known as "Glory's Last Shot," the PGA Championship now takes its turn as the second major of the year. It's run by the PGA of America and is often seen as the major for the pros, by the pros. It consistently boasts one of the strongest fields in golf and travels to some of the country's most renowned and challenging courses.
Unlike The Masters, the PGA Championship rotates venues. It has been held at legendary courses like Southern Hills in Oklahoma, Oak Hill in New York, and Valhalla in Kentucky. These courses are typically set up to be difficult but fair, often characterized as long parkland-style layouts that demand excellent ball-striking from tee to green. This variety means that players face a different type of challenge each year, moving from the undulating terrain of Augusta to a variety of American golf architectures.
Promoted as having "the strongest field in golf," the PGA Championship prides itself on inviting almost every top-100 player in the world rankings. What also makes it unique is that a special allocation of 20 spots is reserved for "PGA Club Professionals." These are the teaching and club pros who give lessons and run pro shops at courses around the country. After a rigorous qualifying process, they get the chance to tee it up with the world's best, a fantastic tribute to the thousands of pros who work to grow the game at the grassroots level.
Just as summer heats up, golf presents its most demanding examination: the U.S. Open. Held in mid-June every year, it has rightfully earned its reputation as the most difficult test in the sport.
Organized by the United States Golf Association (USGA), the U.S. Open is our national championship. The philosophy behind it is simple: to identify the best player in the world through the most rigorous test possible. Winning a U.S. Open is less about making a lot of birdies and more about surviving. It's a mental and physical grind where par is a cherished score on every hole. Celebrations are often for tough two-putts, not 30-foot birdie bombs.
The course is the star of the U.S. Open. The USGA is known for its brutal setups. This means courses with extremely narrow fairways pinching in on landing areas, punishingly thick "graduated rough" that gets deeper the farther you are from the fairway, and firm, lightning-fast greens that reject all but the most precise approach shots. Iconic venues like Winged Foot, Oakmont, Pinehurst, and Pebble Beach have hosted this major, all sharing the common thread of being incredibly difficult.
As the name suggests, the defining feature of the U.S. Open is that it is "open" to all. While top professionals are exempt, approximately half of the 156-player field earns a spot through a two-stage qualifying process. Anyone with a USGA handicap of 0.4 or lower can sign up for local qualifying. If they advance, they move to sectional qualifying. This democratic process gives unsung professionals and talented amateurs a shot at glory, making for great storylines every year.
The major season concludes in July with the oldest and arguably most historic golf tournament of them all, The Open Championship.
Dating back to 1860, The Open is pure golf. Played on a rotation of seaside links courses in the United Kingdom, it celebrates creativity, resilience, and adaptability to the elements. The wind and rain are as much a part of the tournament as the players themselves. The prize is the iconic Claret Jug, perhaps the most coveted trophy in all of sports.
Links golf is a completely different game. Unlike the pristine, manicured parkland courses of America, links courses are raw, windswept, and defined by nature. They feature firm, fast-running fairways, deep and treacherous pot bunkers, and quirky, unpredictable bounces. Players can’t rely on flying the ball high to the flagstick, they have to master the ground game, using slopes and hitting low, controlled "stinger" shots to keep the ball out of the wind. St. Andrews, the "Home of Golf," is the most famous venue, but others like Royal Liverpool, Royal Birkdale, and Carnoustie are equally revered.
The Open is the most international of the four majors, with a robust qualifying series held across multiple continents. This ensures a truly global field battles it out to be named the "Champion Golfer of the Year."
The order of the majors shapes the entire narrative of the professional golf season. An early win at The Masters puts a target on a player’s back and starts the conversation about a possible "Grand Slam" - winning all four majors in a single calendar year, a feat no one has accomplished in the modern era.
The compressed schedule from April to July forces players to be at their absolute best for a concentrated four-month stretch. They have to transition their game and strategy quickly: from the second-shot artistry of Augusta, to the tee-to-green power at the PGA, to the mental toughness for the U.S. Open, and finally to the creative shot-making of The Open. Each major presents a distinct challenge, and the player who masters one may not have the skillset for the next. This progression creates the drama that keeps us glued to our screens from springtime through summer.
Understanding the order of the four majors - The Masters, PGA Championship, U.S. Open, and The Open Championship - gives you a framework for enjoying the professional season. From the blooming azaleas in April to the windswept links in July, each tournament offers a unique brand of excitement and crowns a champion who has earned their place in history.
Following how the pros strategize at each distinct venue is fascinating, but applying that same thoughtful approach to your own game is what makes a real difference. That’s why we built Caddie AI. When you're facing a tough decision on the course, whether it’s a tricky lie in the rough like you’d see at the U.S. Open or a nerve-racking shot over water, our app is there to help. It can even analyze a photo of your lie to give you specific advice instantly. This takes the guesswork out of course management, helping you make smarter, more confident decisions from the first tee to the final putt.
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