grand-slam-golf

The PGA of America has decided to permanently cancel the Grand Slam of Golf.

The four-man, 36-hole event had been played annually since 1979 and typically brings together the four major champions from the previous calendar year.

There was no Grand Slam of Golf in 2015. The PGA decided to pull the event due to be played at Trump National after Donald Trump’s controversial comments about immigrants. 

It was only meant to be a one-year hiatus, but the decision has now been made to cancel the event, first held in 1979, permanently. 

“When the PGA Grand Slam of Golf was launched in 1979, the golf world was much different than it is today,” the PGA said in a statement. “The PGA Tour’s wrap-around schedule, the European Tour’s Race to Dubai, plus other important international events, make the fall schedule very busy and hectic for the top players in the world. It had also become challenging to attract fans, television viewership and media interest.

“While we have enjoyed staging the PGA Grand Slam of Golf, given those many factors, the timing is right to discontinue the event.”

A four-way battle between the year’s four major winners sounds like a fantastic idea, but an increasing number of players had taken to swerving the event in recent years. Phil Mickelson skipped it in 2010 and 2013, Louis Oosthuizen didn’t appear in 2010, and Rory McIlroy didn’t play in 2012. 

The last Grand Slam of Golf, played at the end of the 2014 season, was won by that year’s US Open champion, Martin Kaymer, beating Masters winner Bubba Watson, Open champion Rory McIlroy, and Jim Furyk, who made up the numbers as Rory McIlroy also won the PGA Championship that year. 

Do you think cancelling the Grand Slam of Golf is the right decision? 

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