Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee sparked debate by declaring the Players Championship not only a major but the best one in golf. Speaking at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, he praised its field depth, difficulty, and course design. The opinion has reignited discussions about the event's status in the sport's hierarchy.
The Players Championship, golf's flagship PGA Tour event since 1974, has long been debated as a potential major alongside the Masters, U.S. Open, Open Championship, and PGA Championship. Hosted at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, it features a prestigious list of past winners including Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino, Greg Norman, and Tiger Woods. The course is renowned for its challenging layout, particularly the water-lined 16th, 17th, and 18th holes.
On Saturday at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee elevated the conversation during a live broadcast with colleagues Damon Hack and Paige Mackenzie. "What constitutes a major championship?" Chamblee asked. "Of course, it’s history and tradition and reverence and all those things. But at the core, these are hard events to win... They’ve got to be hard events to win, they’ve got to have great fields, and they’ve got to produce indelible champions and indelible moments."
Chamblee argued that the Players excels in these areas. "When you look at the Players Championship—with all due respect to the other four major championships—it is the best field in golf. It is the deepest field in golf," he said. He highlighted its 50-year history, noting only one successful defense, making it the hardest major to win. Regarding TPC Sawgrass, he claimed, "save for one hole, [it] is arguably the best golf course on which they play a major championship from a shot-values perspective."
His boldest statement: "So, in every single way that a metric could be used to measure whether something is a major, the Players, to me, stands alone and above the other four major championships—not just as a major. It is, in my estimation, the best major."
Chamblee, a polarizing figure, pointed out that Golf Channel has covered the Players with its 'Live From' show since 2004, treating it like a major. A recent promotional video featuring the tagline "March is going to be major" has fueled online discourse. However, few outside the PGA Tour appear to share his view. The 2026 Players Championship is scheduled for March 12-15 at TPC Sawgrass.
