What makes a golf event a major?

Question

as opposed to other tournaments.

Answer 1

The Masters was the creation of Bobby Jones and the membership of the Augusta National golf course headed by Cliff Roberts. They had a great course and invited the better amateurs and professional golfers to play. As it was one of the first events of the season, it became a standard to which every good golfer hoped to be invited. The US Open was a tournament which occurred long before the Masters where  Francis Ouimette defeated Harry Vardon and other favored pro golfers. This was also an invitational of the USGA and catered to the top amateurs and pros. The British Open was THE TOURNAMENT that attracted the likes of Walter Hagen, Gene Sarazen, and other Americans to compete. It was the British premier golfing event. Then the British Amateur was the other major since golf professionals were not considered classy people and the rich dominated the amateur ranks.So historically, these were considered prestige events and were coined majors by the golf writers of the day.

Answer 2

History and tradition defines the "majors".  They used to be the US Amateur, US Open, British Amateur and Open Championship.  But over time the amateurs were dropped and replaced by the Masters, and PGA.  They will continue to evolve over time, but they are generally considered the tournaments that are the most difficult to win and thus the most prestigious.

Answer 3

there are four majors in the world of golf. The Masters, the U.S open, the British open and the PGA championship.  A major is the ultimate test of a golfers skills and talents. The courses are set-up extremely difficult (ie. fairways narrowed, greens incredibly fast, hard pin positions) and only the top 150 players in the world ranking are invited unless they are granted an exemption for some reason or another. For example, you may have won a previous major, or you may have placed top-10 in a major, you may be an amateur, etc.. To win a major championship is usually the highlight of a golfer's career. It is incredibly difficult to do and will set you apart from everyone else for the rest of your life.