Each season, golf’s four biggest tournaments are played within just a few months. The Masters kicks off the schedule in April and, following the PGA Championship and the US Open, The Open Championship brings it to a close in July. For many fans, the majors seem to come and go too quickly, while for several of the world’s top players, the issue goes beyond perception: they believe the current schedule limits the impact of these events on the development and global growth of the sport.
Among those leading the discussion is Rory McIlroy, who has suggested extending the major championship season. His proposal has found support from other leading players, including Spain’s Jon Rahm and world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler. Although each approaches the issue from a different perspective, they all agree that there is room to rethink the structure of the majors in order to strengthen golf on the international stage.
More time and new destinations for the majors
While McIlroy has been one of the most vocal advocates for a longer calendar, Jon Rahm believes the discussion should also include the geographical distribution of the tournaments. The two-time major champion argues that golf could benefit from taking its biggest events to new markets, especially considering that three of the four major championships are currently held in the United States, with only The Open Championship being played elsewhere.
“I think it would be good for golf,” Rahm said when referring to the possibility of having a more international major championship. The Spaniard mentioned that regions such as Australia, Asia, and even greater representation in Europe could host events of this level, provided the necessary sporting and commercial conditions are met. In his view, the global growth of the sport justifies exploring new venues that would bring its biggest tournaments closer to an increasingly diverse audience.
An increasingly compressed calendar
The debate also centers on how quickly the major season unfolds. Within just a few months, players compete in the year’s biggest championships before almost immediately shifting their focus to the PGA Tour playoffs, the season-ending events on the DP World Tour, or international commitments such as the Olympic Games. That concentration of marquee events has changed the competitive rhythm of the calendar and reduced the time each tournament has to maintain its spotlight.
Scottie Scheffler shares that view. The world No. 1 acknowledged that the season “is getting shorter and shorter” and that the majors seem to arrive one after another without pause. Even so, he admitted that any changes are completely beyond the players’ control, as they can only adapt to the calendar they are given. Behind that reality also lie structural governance challenges within golf, where organizations such as the R&A and the USGA have struggled even to implement technical changes, such as new golf ball specifications. In that context, extending the major championship season represents a far more complex discussion than simply reorganizing the calendar.
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