The PGA Championship Has The Toughest Field Of All Major Championships

The PGA Championship is being held this week at the famed and history soaked Oakland Hills Country Club in Michigan. This golf course is no joke. It's incredibly long, well designed and difficult but not tricked up. Scores will not be low, but the PGA of America has fielded the players to handle it.

In fact, the PGA Championship has the deepest and best field of players of any golf tournament in the world. This is not an opinion. Here are the facts.

Basically there is a governing body that decides who plays in each of golf's major championships. Each one of these organizations has their niche in the industry and their players to promote.

The USGA is the governing body for amateur golf in the U.S. and they decide the field for the U.S. Open which is often referred to as golf's top prize. Here is the exact list of possible exemptions to fill the U.S. Open.

U.S. Open Key to Player Exemptions:

1. Winners of the U.S. Open Championship for the last 10 years.
2. Winner and runner-up of the 2007 U.S. Amateur Championship.
3. Winners of the Masters Tournament for the last five years.
4. Winners of the British Open Championship for the last five years.
5. Winners of the PGA of America Championship for the last five years.
6. Winner of the 2008 Players Championship.
7. Winner of the 2007 U.S. Senior Open Championship.
8. From the 2007 U.S. Open Championship, the 15 lowest scorers and anyone tying for 15th place.
9. From the 2007 final official PGA Tour money list, the top 30 money leaders.
10. Those 30 players qualifying for the 2007 season-ending Tour Championship.
11. From the 2007 final official PGA European Tour, the top 15 money leaders.
12. From the 2008 official PGA Tour money list, the top 10 money leaders through May 26.
13. Any multiple winners of PGA Tour co-sponsored events whose victories are considered official from April 25, 2007, through June 1, 2008.
14. From the 2008 PGA European Tour, the top two money leaders through May 26.
15. From the 2007 final Japan Golf Tour money list, the top two leaders provided they are within the top 75 point leaders of the World Rankings at that time.
16. From the 2007 final PGA Tour of Australasia money list, the top two leaders provided they are within the top 75 point leaders of the World Rankings at that time.
17. From the World Rankings list, the top 50 point leaders as of May 26, 2008
18. Special exemptions selected by the USGA.

It sounds pretty strong right? The weakness is in the regional qualifiers. Over half of the field in this year's, and every year's U.S. Open are category 18 players.

That means that half the field could not otherwise qualify. It mostly includes  amateurs, to support the USGA's organizational goals.

The Masters is not much better with all their invited amateurs, in the spirit of the great Bobby Jones, and over the hill past champions who have exemptions.

The Open Championship (British Open for the Yanks) promotes and international field and had 55 international qualifiers from local tournaments held worldwide. This could be anyone who can survive three weeks of tournament play against other local amateurs.

Don't get me wrong, none of these players are bad at golf. It just reduces the actual number of players that might be able to compete for the trophy on Sunday.

The PGA Championship on the other hand is run by the PGA of America and has professional golfers as their preferred constituency. There are no amateurs in the field. The only players in this field who don't fit into standard exemption categories are 20 club professional qualifiers.

These are the 20 best players that season coming out of the PGA of America. Your local club pro or teaching professional can play in this major championship if they win a series of events against all the other golf industry professionals in the nation. None of them will win the tournament, but there are far fewer taking up spots for legitimate contenders than in the other majors.

In fact 91 of the top 100 professional golfers in the world will be teeing it up this weekend and the tournament is wide open due to the absence of No. 1.