The 4 Golf Majors in Order

The four men’s professional golf majors, in the order they are played each year, are the Masters in April, the PGA Championship in May, the U.S. Open in June and The Open Championship (the British Open) in July. These are the four most prestigious titles in the sport, and a player’s career is largely judged by how many of them they win.

Majors are the tournaments the whole golf calendar orbits around: the strongest fields, the toughest course setups and the deepest history. Together they run from early spring to the height of summer, spread across the United States and the United Kingdom. Here is each major in order, what makes it distinctive, and the traditions that surround them.

1. The Masters — April

The Masters is the first major of the year and the only one always played at the same venue: Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia, first contested in 1934. Its champion receives the famous green jacket, and the course’s manicured perfection and roaring back-nine finishes make it the most instantly recognisable event in golf.

Because it returns to Augusta every spring, the Masters rewards local knowledge, players who have learned the greens’ severe slopes over many years often contend again and again. That familiarity is part of why a handful of legends have racked up the most Masters wins, a record that stands as a landmark of sustained greatness.

2. The PGA Championship — May

The PGA Championship, run by the PGA of America, is the second major and moves to a different course each year, almost always in the United States. Historically played in August, it shifted to May in 2019, tightening the run of majors into a four-month window.

It is known for assembling arguably the deepest field of the four, and its trophy, the Wanamaker Trophy, is one of the largest in sport. The event has a reputation for producing surprise winners as well as favourites, thanks to strong, championship-length setups that test every part of a player’s game.

3. The U.S. Open — June

The U.S. Open, staged by the USGA in June, is famous for being the most punishing setup of the year. Narrow fairways, thick rough and firm, lightning-fast greens are designed to protect par and expose any weakness, which is why so many people call it the hardest major to win.

It rotates among a roster of demanding courses across the country and is open, in principle, to any professional or amateur who can qualify, hence the name. Winning it typically means grinding out pars and avoiding disaster rather than making a flurry of birdies, a war of attrition as much as a display of brilliance.

4. The Open Championship — July

The Open Championship, run by The R&A and often called the British Open outside the UK, is the oldest major, first played in 1860. It closes the major season in July and is contested on seaside links courses in Britain, where wind, rain and firm, running turf create a style of golf found nowhere else on the calendar.

Its champion lifts the Claret Jug and earns the title “Champion Golfer of the Year.” Links conditions can change dramatically within a single round, so The Open rewards creativity, ball flight control and patience in the elements.

The majors at a glance

Major	Month	Governing body	Venue pattern
The Masters	April	Augusta National	Same course every year
PGA Championship	May	PGA of America	Rotates (mostly U.S.)
U.S. Open	June	USGA	Rotates across the U.S.
The Open	July	The R&A	Rotates British links

The “fifth major” and the majors beyond the men’s game

You will often hear The Players Championship described as the “fifth major.” It is not an official major, but its enormous purse and famously deep field, essentially every top player in the world, have earned it the unofficial nickname. No governing body recognises it as a fifth, so the men’s game still counts exactly four.

It is also worth remembering that “the four majors” refers specifically to the men’s professional game. Women’s professional golf has its own set of majors, and the senior and amateur ranks have their own championships of comparable prestige within their circuits. When people say “the majors” without qualification, though, they almost always mean the four men’s events, Masters, PGA, U.S. Open and Open, that anchor the golf calendar.

Why the order and the count matter

The sequence matters because momentum builds through the season: a strong Masters can set up a run at the career or single-season Grand Slam, winning all four majors. Only five men have completed the career version, and no one has won all four in the same calendar year in the modern era.

That rarity is exactly why “how many majors” is golf’s ultimate shorthand for greatness. Regular tour events and even elite invitationals are prestigious, but they do not move the needle on a legacy the way a major does. Whether you are following the leaderboard or settling a bar-side debate, knowing the four majors in order, Masters, PGA, U.S. Open, Open, is the foundation for understanding the sport’s biggest weeks. It also helps to know the scoring terms that fill every major broadcast.