Fan's perspective: Which golf major is most prestigious?

With the PGA Championship just days away, I can't help but look back at the other three major championships this year.

The Masters was great, with PGA newcomer Charl Schwartzel finishing with four straight birdies. Then we got to see Rory McIlroy take the U.S. Open with unbelievable play throughout, but finish poorly at the British Open. The British Open was marked with poor weather, but shouldn't the golfers expect poor weather at The Open? Looking back, I couldn't help but think of which major championship is the most prestigious.

I came up with this ranking order, from least to most prestigious.

The PGA Championship

While the PGA Championship is the final major of the season, it doesn't have the identity or history of the other three majors. Short of offering a $20 million cash pool and only playing at a course that only allows the president and foreign dignitaries, I can't see the PGA Championship remedying its image crisis anytime soon. What kind of crazy world is it where the premiere golf league's championship ranks dead last in prestige?

The U.S. Open

The U.S. Open is always played on one of the hardest courses in the country, and it has been played for over 100 years. Over half the entries are fielded from qualifying tournaments in which women are allowed to play, so the greatest golfer, man or woman, at that very moment can qualify and win without having a huge PGA presence beforehand. The favorite courses of the U.S. Open put a premium on accurate driving and approach play which favors the better golfers. With all the U.S. Open has to offer, it falls short of its competition simply because it is going up against giants.

The Masters

Augusta National Golf Club invites a select group of the greatest golfers in the world, usually under 100, to come and play against the best at the only Major Championship that doesn't change venue. Even though The Masters is younger than the other three majors, the course itself lends the history to make up for it. The small field, lack of alternates, the course itself and the tournament's aura all speak to the exclusivity of the year's first major. It is the Green Jacket awarded to the winner that distinctively crowns The Masters as one of the most prestigious golf tournaments still played today. It would have no competition, at least if it lived in a world where there was no British Open.

The Open Championship

The oldest of the four majors opts out of playing on lavish country club courses that are neatly manicured and pruned. The history of the tournament and the tendency to play on traditional links style courses is all it takes to crown The Open Championship as golf's most prestigious major. There are also qualifying tournaments on every continent on earth, helping to make sure that The Open is truly an international championship. Several of the recent winners were relative unknowns who benefited from playing a more common windswept course where coddled professionals are thrown off their game. Golf was invented as a sport for commoners, and the tradition dies hard at The Open. The best part of winning the tournament is receiving and getting your name engraved on the Claret Jug, a trophy that dates back to 1872. It's hard to compete with the tournament that has been played since 1860 and was conceived in the same place as the sport itself.

Adam is a recreational golfer and an avid PGA spectator.