The narrative to push The PLAYERS Championship as the fifth major has begun again. Brian Rolapp subtly initiated the proposal after the PGA Tour released a teaser for the event with a tagline, “March is going to be major.” Now Brandel Chamblee has weighed in on the matter, and suffice it to say, his bold claim has ruffled a few feathers.

The Golf Channel analyst said, “The Players, to me, stands alone and above the other four major championships as not just a major, it is, in my estimation, the best major.”

He was discussing the fluidity of majors with expert Damon Hack and Paige Mackenzie. Brandel Chamblee further argued that winning The PLAYERS Championship is harder than winning the majors, because the depth of the field is greater than that of any other tournament.

“When you look at the Players Championship — with all due respect to the other four major championships — it is the best field in golf. It is the deepest field in golf. And by virtue of the fact that in its 50-year history, only one player has successfully defended it, I would argue that it is the hardest major championship to win.”

Scottie Scheffler is the only player to have won The PLAYERS Championship back-to-back. Three golfers have won the Masters consecutive times, and seven players have defended their U.S. Open titles. On the other hand, 12 players have won the Open Championship back-to-back, and seven golfers have lifted the Wanamaker twice in a row at the PGA Championship.

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However, it should be noted that all four majors have a history that dates back further than The PLAYERS Championship. Chamblee, however, wasn’t done and continued to argue to bolster his claim. This time, the former PGA Tour pro waxed lyrical about the venue.

“You can talk about aesthetics all you want, risk-reward holes certainly, but from a shot-value standpoint, you cannot touch TPC Sawgrass,” Chamblee said while comparing The PLAYERS Championship venue to Augusta National and other host sites of majors.

The PLAYERS Championship has always been considered a prestigious tournament on the calendar. The best on the PGA Tour assemble to compete for the trophy designed by Tiffany & Co. They also battle for the maximum payday ($4.5 million) from the huge $25 million purse.

But no one ever claimed that it’s harder to win and carries more weight than the majors. Chamblee has had many polarizing opinions before, but this one surely trumps them all. Interestingly, his comment came on the heels of another debatable take from a PGA Tour pro.

A few days back, Michael Kim tweeted, “I’d honestly be prouder of winning the Players over the PGA. (As if I get to choose I know haha).”

Kim has only won one PGA Tour title in 10 years. He has had the opportunity to play in the majors and The PLAYERS Championship on multiple occasions. Having been on the fairway to play either of those events, he understands the prestige behind all of them.

So has Phil Mickelson, who had a radically different take than Chamblee’s. Lefty won The PLAYERS in 2007. The six-time major champion, currently away from golf due to a family emergency, simply tweeted, “I’ve won it. It’s not [better than majors].”

Similarly, the netizens might not hold the same opinion as Chamblee and Kim, as their comments clearly evinced.

Brandel Chamblee’s views don’t align with the golf community

It’s not the first time fans have disagreed with Brandel Chamblee. After a quick browse through golf communities on Reddit, you can see that he’s considered a highly opinionated individual. So it didn’t come as a surprise that some fans disagreed with his stance on The PLAYERS Championship.

One of the supporters wrote, “A closed event controlled by a domestic tour – yeah right… sure sounds like a major. 🤦‍♂️”

As it is right now, The PLAYERS Championship falls completely under the PGA Tour calendar. This limits the opportunities for pros from other Tours to participate in it. Fans wouldn’t be in favor of such a closed-door event.

To elaborate on this further, even Lee Westwood commented on the situation as he wrote, “I’m worried about Brandel. Someone check on him please.”

Ever since the proposal has come to light, Westwood has been calling out the PGA Tour for not allowing LIV Golf pros to join the conversation. He proposed that if things do go according to Rolapp’s plans, then they should allow 15 LIV Golf pros to join the TPC Sawgrass event.

A fan wrote, “Load of rubbish. You can’t replace history which @TheOpen and @TheMasters in particular has in spades compared to any other tournament.”

Another comment read, “THE PROPAGANDA MACHINE IS STRONG!!!! The Society of Golf Historians says absolutely not.”

Nearly all of the majors have at least a century-old history. The Masters Tournament was established in 1934. Over the years, each of the majors has created a unique characteristic and history that gives it a compelling story. Notably, the PLAYERS Championship, which was formed in 1974, still hasn’t earned the status to be ranked alongside the other four.

The claim was so preposterous that a netizen made another wild comparison: “How soon before Brandel says the Travelers is a bigger event than the Super Bowl?”

There is no doubt that this conversation will continue to divide experts, players, and fans alike.