How the major that isn’t one (yet) took Adam Scott from ‘no-name’ to stardom

Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida: Adam Scott told a cracking yarn that, unintentionally, lightened the mood on a decades-old debate in professional golf that has recently bordered on awkward: Is the Players Championship worth being a major?

It sure looks like one, with 47 of the world’s top 50 golfers in the 123-player field this week, a $US25 million (A$35m) prize purse, 24 countries represented, including Australia, and unmatched prestige on the PGA Tour’s regular schedule. Despite its merits, the annual argument for it to be on equal footing with the Masters, PGA Championship, US Open and British Open has gone nowhere.

Until the lead-up to this year’s Players, that is.

The PGA Tour caused a stir when it unveiled an advertisement campaign last month for the 2026 Players with the tagline, “March is going to be major.” It won’t, but the PGA Tour’s flagship event certainly can make a golfing celebrity out of its champions.

Millions watch on TV as the final-round leader navigates the treacherous island-green of the par-3 17th with a $US4.5 million first prize cheque on the line. Winning brings overnight fame.

Scott would know. His second career PGA Tour victory was the 2004 Players. Now 45 and a global star, the affable Queenslander laughed on Tuesday, recalling a time when American golf fans had no clue who he was. Scott had shot 65 to lead after day one at TPC Sawgrass in 2004.

“My wife and I were dating at that point [and] we had dinner after the first round somewhere across the street, there in the shopping complex,” Scott recalled. “We were sitting at the bar eating and overheard the guys next to us, and he said, ‘Who is leading this tournament?’ The [other] guy said, ‘Some [f—g] no-name.’ My wife, or girlfriend at the time, was ready to kind of jump in there and let him have it,” Scott laughed.

Scott’s first big US victory ended such anonymity. His 2013 Masters win at Augusta then took his fame into the stratosphere.

PGA Tour golfers field reporters’ questions about the tournament’s standing in golf every year. But after the recent ad campaign, the big names were better prepared than usual.

“I know what you’re trying to bait me into saying, but listen, it’s the Players Championship … that’s what I view it as,” five-time major winner Brooks Koepka said. “Everybody knows it’s a tournament you want to win.”

World No.40 Jason Day, whose lone major was the 2015 PGA Championship, is among the Australians to have claimed a Players title in the past decade, along with LIV golfer Cameron Smith (2022). Day, the 2016 winner at TPC Sawgrass, says leading late on the final day is as nerve-wracking as the throes of a major Sunday.

“Of course,” the former world No.1 told this masthead on Tuesday. “It definitely feels like a major. It’s held on a golf course with a very iconic finish.”

So what does Day think of the debate? “If you try and push it [the narrative], it will never stick, so it’s just got to keep building,” he said. “I think at some point maybe people will look at it differently, but as of right now, [opinions] may be a split amongst players.”

On the positive side of that split sits Min Woo Lee, Australia’s most recent contender at TPC Sawgrass. He played in the final group and briefly held the Sunday lead in 2023, only to fade to a share of sixth behind winner Scottie Scheffler. He tied for 20th last year.

“Yeah, I mean, I would like that,” PGA Tour winner Lee said. “I love this course, and it fits my eye. There’s a lot of creative shots you need here, so I stand on the side of it being ‘yes’. We obviously have four good majors, so a fifth one would be pretty cool. [Women’s golf] has five, so why not us [too]?”

Lee and four other Australians – Scott, Day, Karl Vilips and Cameron Davis – will tee up in Thursday’s opening round (Thursday night, AEDT). A victory, though, would mean more for veterans Scott and Day. The latter overcame a years-long slump that saw him plummet to 175th on the world rankings, with a 13th career PGA Tour win in 2023.

Now 38, Day said a Players Championship win would boost his legacy.

“It’d be off the charts,” Day said. “Two Players [titles] and a major and all the other [PGA Tour wins]? That’d be pretty special. Would I be done? Probably not, but a Players win to me is huge.”

Huge, but not a major yet.