PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — As terrific as The Players Championship is — and it is the best tournament of the year under the PGA Tour umbrella — there are two downsides.

First up, there is the NASCAR mentality that exists with that hideous excuse of a golf hole, the island-green 17th.

The Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass is one great 17-hole golf course, soiled only by the mistake at the man-made lake. Tens of thousands of people will gather each day to root for the sort of crashes they normally only get while watching gas-guzzling fools go round and round and round.

That being said, it’s easier to accept the par-3 17th than it is the annual cliché as to whether or not The Players Championship is “the fifth major” championship. Spare me. When you touch five bases after hitting a grand slam, we’ll add a fifth tournament to the major championship landscape. Until then, there are four and only four major championships — the Masters, U.S. Open, British Open and the PGA Championship. Everything else is a golf tournament.

Next time someone wants to debate otherwise, remind he or she of the silly scenarios that could unfold were any credence be given to this “fifth major” talk.

To whit:

Now in possession of 21 major championships, thanks to his three triumphs in The Players Championship, Jack Nicklaus is seven in front of Tiger Woods, whose stash was bumped from 13 to 14.

“It’s still not an insurmountable lead,” said Nicklaus. “I suspect Tiger will blow past me, even if he can’t figure out Sawgrass.”

Another icon was less content. Arnold Palmer suggested the wrong tournament was made a fifth major.

“Back in my day, the Hope was a must-play,” said Palmer, who triumphed five times in the popular desert tournament and suggests his major total should be 12, not seven.


But you want disgruntled. Imagine Gary Player’s dismay when he woke up and discovered that he wasn’t one of five players to have won the career Grand Slam.

“It’s a shame. I can’t believe it,” said Player, who never won The Players Championship. Neither did Gene Sarazen or Ben Hogan — but then again, they were retired decades before The Players Championship came into existence. Currently, only Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods have earned victories in all five major championships, but Player vows to do something about that situation.

“I’ll enter The Players Championship and if I’m not exempt, I’ll do 10,000 push-ups on the first tee and halt play until they let me in,” said the 72-year-old Player.


Mark Hayes was thrilled to have been notified about his first and only major championship. Ditto Mark McCumber.

“Now maybe I won’t be remembered just for wearing that silly ‘Bucket hat,’ ” said Hayes, who won The Players Championship in 1977.


Tiger Woods is not the first African-American golfer to have won a major championship. Oh, his demolition of the field at Augusta National in 1997 is still in various parts of the record books, but there’s a new entry to salute so far as being the first goes. That would be Calvin Peete, the pinpoint-accurate driver whose brilliant play was at its best at the 1985 Players Championship.

“Tiger called to congratulate me,” Peete said. “I thought that was nice of him. But he did say The Players Championship shouldn’t be the fifth major. He said the Buick Invitational should be and since he is the engine that makes the PGA Tour run, I wouldn’t be surprised if they change their minds.

“But I’ll enjoy the historical achievement while I have credit for it.”


When told that his father’s 1975 win at The Players Championship now counted as a major championship, Brent Geiberger accepted the news with great humility. He did, however, make an inquiry.

“I’m wondering if it comes with any sort of retroactive 10-year exemption, or even a lifetime pass, like the Masters. If so, it would be great if it could be passed down within the family, because I could use it,” said the son.

“Heck, I’m already using status as a ‘past champion,’ so that wouldn’t be that much different.”


Told that he would now be recognized not as a one-time major winner, but a three-time major winner, Steve Elkington scowled.

“What? That’s supposed to make me cheery? It doesn’t. I’m still a miserable crank,” he said.


From somewhere in Europe where he’s traveling to bring his sweet disposition to tens of thousands of deprived souls, Colin Montgomerie ripped the announcement.

“Just what I need, another major I never won. Go ahead and say it, ‘I’m the best player never to have won any of the five majors.’ Why not really rub it in and make the NEC Invitational a major, too. I’ve never won that, either.”


No longer does he own just two major championships. No, sir. Greg Norman is up to three, thanks to his overwhelming win at the 1994 Players Championship.

“Brilliant news, simply brilliant,” said Norman. “I think I’ll celebrate by buying another yacht, or maybe another helicopter.”


Somewhat perplexed was David Duval. He reasoned that had he known The Players Championship was a major championship, his inexplicable slide from prominence would have started in late 1999, not in 2002, a year after he had won the British Open and sang out, “Is that all there is, my friends?”

Had Duval in late 1999 put the game on the back burner, as he pretty much did after winning the 2001 British Open, his comeback could have started two years earlier than it did.


Told that his 2002 victory at The Players Championship was now considered a major championship, Craig Perks shook his head vehemently.

“It cannot be,” he said. “It simply cannot be. I’m not good enough to win a major championship. You don’t want to do that to the stature of major championships, do you?”

No, we don’t. Which is why we’ll stick with the four we have, thank you very much.

Now, let us proceed with The Players Championship, one great tournament, but not a major.