Tiger Woods Wants to Win Fifth Major Again

World No. 1 Tiger Woods is back at TPC Sawgrass home of The Players Championship which he won in 2001 and where he won the first of three consecutive U.S. Amateurs at the age of 18.

Why isn’t The Players the fifth major when everyone is saying it seems like it should be?

“Obviously it's the best field in all of golf and played on a golf course that is very demanding, and if the wind blows it's very tricky,” noted Tiger in his Tuesday morning pre-tournament interview.

If it’s the best field in all of golf why isn’t it a Major?

Phil Mickelson, champion here in 2006 after a change in schedule from March to May and course renovations turned the Dye masterpiece into a “hard and fast” U.S. Open like golf course echoed Woods’ sentiments.

“This is our (the PGA TOUR) big event. The golf course is in great shape. The field is the strongest in golf, and I'm excited to get this thing started.”

Isn’t the golf course Major worthy?

Mickelson knows that the course was built up from swamp land and designed in such a way as to test the shot-making ability of all golfers.

“(The) shot value has been created that is second to none.”

“Second to none” means on par or better than Augusta National, the seaside links course on the British Open Rota and the selected courses of the U.S. Open and PGA Championship.

The World No. 2 golfer continued his praise of the design of The Players Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass.

“The quality of the shot-making that's needed is very fair. It changes from hole to hole, there's a great mixture in length of holes, great mixture in shots needed, placements of hazards. It's just very well thought through. I think you have to play well and it doesn't favor any style of play.”

Defending Champion and World No. 3  Sergio Garcia echoed what Nos. 1 and 2 said.

“The history, the atmosphere you get on the golf course and everything is definitely— we've always said it, this feels like a major championship. And I don't think it has anything to—anything that the majors don't have. It's just—it's not considered one, but it could be easily considered one.”

Heck if it is that easy let’s hit the “EASY BUTTON” and make it happen pronto.

“It is our championship and it always makes it a little bit extra special. I don't think it has anything to—I don't know the right word…”

Moderator: “Prove?”

Garcia: “Yeah.”

The Players does not have anything to prove in regards to becoming the fifth Major. Oh its one of those gray areas where if you have to ask you really aren’t one? Kind of like the “quasi-WGC” HSBC Champions that he too is the defending champion?

Going right down the list to World No. 4 Geoff Ogilivy for final and conclusive evidence that The Players Championship is the world of golf’s fifth Major.

“I don't think it's any secret this is a tournament everyone wants to win, probably the biggest tournament we play that's not a major. So yeah, it's developing a pretty good history when you play at the same place every year. It creates an atmosphere that you can't create when you move a tournament around, so it's one we all look forward to coming back to.”

Oh yeah other than Augusta National this tournament for the last 27 years is the only other Major contender that is played on the same course year in and year out. Now that is a major consideration and another reason to elevate this championship to the status it deserves.

Schedule wise it makes sense and looks like a Major with the Masters in April, The Players in May, the U.S. Open in June, the British Open in July and the PGA Championship in August.

By the way the PGA Tour is President Obama approved. Unlike the NCAA football season it has an established playoff format.

With the PGA Tour Playoffs, the Tour Championship and the FedEx Cup how could the Prez not vote for The Players to be the fifth Major? Plus this is his special year with the President’s Cup at Harding Park in San Francisco in early October.

Okay back to Ogilvy’s secret. What is the dirty little secret about making The Players the fifth Major?

Tiger Woods does not want it to be a Major. And what Tiger doesn’t want Tiger does get in this day and age of the world of golf.

Why not you may ask? Because that other fellow Jack Nicklaus has won three of ‘em and he has won only one Players Championships.

That would make Tiger’s count of 14 Major Championships turn to only 15 while Jack’s goes way up from 18 to 21. New gap of six not four.

No love there for this sensible idea. Match. Set. Game over.

One last thought on this year’s second Major that really should be the fifth Major. Change the playoff from sudden death to a three hole aggregate playoff to include the par-5 16^th, island green par-3 17^th and very difficult par 18^thholes at TPC Sawgrass.

Yes Sergio’s playoff win over Paul Goydos was exciting but imagine giving the guy who threw up on the first hole a chance to redeem himself and win on the next two holes. Now that would really be exciting to watch!

Andy Reistetter is a freelance golf writer. He follows the PGA TOUR volunteering for the tournaments and working part time for NBC Sports, CBS Sports, and The Golf Channel. He resides in Jacksonville Beach, Florida near the PGA TOUR headquarters and home of The PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach. He enjoys pursuing his passion for the game of golf and everything associated with it. He can be reached through his website www.MrHickoryGolf.net or by e-mailing him to [e-mail]