This golf quiz sets you a, ahem, Major challenge. Sorry for that pun! But there are 58 names to get.
When, in 1930, Bobby Jones won The Open Championship at Royal Liverpool, The Amateur Championship at St Andrews, the US Open at Interlachen and the US Amateur at Merion, he had won the four most prestigious golf tournaments of the year. His triumph is now described as the Grand Slam. At the time people talked of major golf tournaments, but the word was used as an adjective – the concept of a “Major” did not exist.
With prize money rising, and the social status of the professional golfer increasing, the best golfers were almost invariably pros. (Johnny Goodman, in 1933, was the last amateur to win the US Open and Jones’ 1930 Open victory was the last time that tournament was won by an amateur.) As a result, the Amateur Championship and the US Amateur were no longer considered as among the top four tournaments.
Arnold Palmer and journalist Bob Drum, travelling to the British Isles in 1960, were chatting about Jones’ Grand Slam and wondering what the modern equivalent would be. The Open and US Open remained, but what would be the other two events? Palmer suggested The Masters, as that event that year had offered the most prize money of any tournament, and also the PGA Championship in the USA.
Palmer had already won the Masters and the US Open that year. Americans rarely competed in The Open at that time due to logistics and the event’s modest prize money, and Palmer, aged 30 and with 19 PGA Tour titles, was playing in it for the first time. So Drum wrote about how Palmer was going to St Andrews in quest of a modern Grand Slam. Palmer later recalled: “Drum got me all excited about it. He got the British press all excited about it. Everybody picked up on it.”
Despite Palmer finishing runner up at St Andrews, so ending his quest for a modern Grand Slam, the concept of golf having four modern Majors had been born.
More golf quizzes:
- How Well Do You Know Phil Mickelson?
- How Many TPC Courses Can You Name?
- The Top 10 Highest Earning Golfers Of 2024
- Every FedExCup Winner
- Every Golfer To Break 60 On the PGA Tour
-
Quiz! 10 Questions Every Golfer Should Know The Answer ToThere are some things every self-respecting golfer might be expected to know. Do you know the answers to all these questions?
-
Quiz! How Well Do You Know Arnold Palmer?He was the first golfing superstar of the television age, but how well do you know his career?
-
Quiz! Can You Guess Which European Countries Have The Most Golfers?Golf is increasing in popularity across this continent, but do you know which countries in Europe have the most golfers?
-
Quiz! How Well Do You Know Old Tom Morris, The 'Father Of Golf'?He was one of the most influential men in defining golf as we now play it, but how well do you know his career?
-
Quiz! Can You Name Which European Countries Have The Most Golf Courses?Do you know which 10 countries in Europe have the most golf courses?
-
Quiz! Can You Name Every Golfer To Break 60 On the PGA Tour?A sub-60 round was first made on the PGA Tour in 1977, and there have been 13 more instances since – can you name them all?
-
Quiz! How Well Do You Know Rory McIlroy?The man from Northern Ireland has had lots written about him, but how well do you know his career?
-
Quiz! Name All Tiger Woods' 15 Major WinsHe has won 15 Majors. Can you name them all?
