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PGA, Golf Herren The Open Championship – Second Round Jul 19, 2024 Ayrshire, SCT Tiger Woods on the 12th hole during the second round of the Open Championship golf tournament at Royal Troon. Ayrshire Royal Troon SCT, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xJackxGruberx 20240719_pjc_usa_476

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PGA, Golf Herren The Open Championship – Second Round Jul 19, 2024 Ayrshire, SCT Tiger Woods on the 12th hole during the second round of the Open Championship golf tournament at Royal Troon. Ayrshire Royal Troon SCT, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xJackxGruberx 20240719_pjc_usa_476
The exciting action at TPC Sawgrass had everyone hooked for the past 5 days! THE PLAYERS Championship 2025 was a major hit among the fans. Watching the best of the best the PGA Tour has to offer competing with each other was an absolutely thrilling experience for a golf fan. The hype grew even more as Rory McIlroy gradually progressed towards a win. After four nail-biting rounds and the dramatic turnaround in the playoffs, everyone was left completely satisfied with the result. As an Instagram comment section would put it, it was “Absolute Cinema.”
The nerve-racking action and McIlroy’s eventual victory got many in the community pumped up. Journalists like Kyle Porter and Dan Rapaport started sharing a glimpse at the Irishman’s career. Even Paige Spiranac dropped a tweet saying “Rory to win The Masters. I know but really this year is the year it’s happening.” And now, one of Tiger Woods‘s former coaches has also left a message on X. It is not McIlroy related, but more about the grand stage set at TPC Sawgrass.
After watching everything that happened in the Florida-based golf course, Hank Haney tweeted, “I’m ready to do a 360 on the Players Championship and making it the 5th Major. Golf desperately needs more meaningful events, 4 Majors and the Ryder Cup just isn’t enough.” This comes as a major shock considering how Haney is an avid LIV Golf supporter. For him to show support for a PGA Tour event was surprising to everyone. But he’s not wrong about the sport needing more “meaningful events.”
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I’m ready to do a 360 on the Players Championship and making it the 5th Major. Golf desperately needs more meaningful events, 4 Majors and the Ryder Cup just isn’t enough.
— Hank Haney (@HankHaney) March 17, 2025
Interestingly, his hot take on THE PLAYERS Championship as the 5th major drew a lot of attention. Many of them included a conversation about LIV Golf. Let’s see what the fans had to say about Haney’s claims.
Tiger Woods’s former coach gets reminded of LIV Golf players
The common theme of the entire comment section revolved around how Tiger Woods’s former coach didn’t suggest having LIV Golf pros in the “5th major”. As one of the fans pointed out “How can it be a major if not all of the worlds top players are eligible to compete?” The contest at TPC Sawgrass would have definitely been more exciting if Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton, and Joaquin Niemann were also involved in the tournament. Turning THE PLAYERS Championship into a major would mean that LIV Golf pros can also qualify for it.
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What’s your perspective on:
Should THE PLAYERS Championship become the 5th Major, or does it dilute the prestige of existing ones?
Have an interesting take?
Another fan was more focused on the “meaningful” in the tweet. With an intent to promote LIV Golf players, they said “Can you get more meaningful events without several elite players not allowed to play? I think that piece has to be sorted out first.” Having all the best players participating in the flagship PGA Tour event would definitely add more value to the contests. If the PIF-PGA Tour merger goes through then fans might get to see that in the near future.
One of the fans seems to be a big fan of one particular Australian as per their comment. No, we’re not talking about Greg Norman. The fan’s tweet read “Not a major until past champions like Cam Smith are back in it. Just is not.” Seems like Cameron Smith also has a great following in the community. Having the Australian pro participate in the TPC Sawgrass event again would be exciting to watch. For those who didn’t know, Smith had dominated the course and won the flagship event a few months prior to his exit in 2022.
There was another fan who not only wanted LIV Golf pros to be included but also didn’t want TPC Sawgrass to get so much attention. They said “Whoa. Let’s hold on a second here and not get ahead of the wagon. We need the best of the best playing to make this argument. And only one course is worthy of hosting a major every year.” The fan is obviously suggesting that Augusta National should only be the regular major course in a calendar year. Having THE PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass every season might decrease the relevance of the Masters Tournament course.
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Then there was someone who was more straightforward with their response. They commented, “Especially if they let LIV players participate.” Allowing LIV Golf players to qualify for THE PLAYERS Championship might lead to some exciting contests with the Saudi-based league. But then again, this can only happen if there is a fallout in the merger. Otherwise, LIV Golf players will have a direct route to qualify for any PGA Tour event, including THE PLAYERS Championship.
What are your thoughts on Tiger Woods’s former coach’s suggestion about turning THE PLAYERS Championship into a 5th major event? Let us know in the comments section.
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Debate
Should THE PLAYERS Championship become the 5th Major, or does it dilute the prestige of existing ones?