Categories of events

• Majors: The four leading annual events in world golf are The Masters, The United States Open, the Open Championship (often referred to as the British Open), and the PGA Championship.
• World Golf Championships: A set of events co-sanctioned by the International Federation of PGA Tours which attract the leading golfers from all over the world, including those who are not members of the PGA TOUR.
• Unique: The unique status of the The PLAYERS Championship is based on the fact that it is the only event apart from the majors and the World Golf Championships which attracts entries from almost all of the world's elite golfers. Official recognition is given to its unique position in the sport by the Official World Golf Rankings, which allocate it a fixed number of points (which is 20% less than for a major), whereas the number of points allocated to "regular" events is dependent on the rankings of the players who enter each year, and is only determined once the entry list is finalized. It is increasingly referred to by the media as the "Fifth major". In North America some people would like to make the tournament an official major and it will be ranked equally with the majors in the FedEx Cup point system. However there is little support for this in the rest of the world, and any revision to the points system for the world rankings would require a global consensus.
• Small field: The FedEx Cup starts and finishes with two elite events for fields which are about 30-strong instead of the usual 150 or so.
• Team: A United States team of 12 elite players competes in the Ryder Cup and the Presidents Cup in alternate years. The Ryder Cup is arguably the highest profile event in golf, outranking the majors. The Presidents Cup is less well established, but is still the main event of the week when it is played. There is no prize money in these events, so they are irrelevant to the money list.
• Regular: Routine weekly tour events. The "regular" events vary somewhat in status, but this is a subjective matter. The relative status of the events is not based on the size of the prize fund to a very large degree, as this doesn't vary much. Some of the other factors which determine the status of a tournament are:
  Its position in the schedule, which influences the number of leading players that choose to enter.
  Its age and the distinction of its past champions.
  The repute of the course on which it is played.
  Any associations with "legends of golf". Five events in particular have such associations:
  The EDS Byron Nelson Championship, named after Byron Nelson, was until 2007 the only current event named after a PGA Tour golfer.
  The Arnold Palmer Invitational, formerly the Bay Hill Invitational, closely identified with Arnold Palmer and played at a resort he owns.
  The Nissan Open and Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, both identified with Ben Hogan, although the Colonial is more closely identified with him.
  The Memorial Tournament, founded by Jack Nicklaus, played on a course he designed, and annually honoring a selected "legend".
• Invitational: These events are similar to the regular ones, but have a slightly smaller (around 100-110 players), selective field. The top 70 on the previous year's money list can automatically take part to invitationals, as well as past champions of the event. There is an increased amount of sponsor's exemptions as well, and some invitationals allow the defending champion to invite one or several non pros as well. Invitational tournaments include the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, the Arnold Palmer Invitational, the Verizon Heritage, the Memorial Tournament and others. The tournaments usually do have an association with a golf legend, or in the case of the Verizon Heritage, a famous course.
• Alternate: Events which are played in the same week as a higher status tournament and therefore have weakened fields and reduced prize money. They are often considered an opportunity for players on the bubble (near or below 125th or 150th) in the money list to move up more easily or to attempt an easier two-year exemption for winning a tournament.
  There are also a number of events which are recognized by the PGA TOUR, but which do not count towards the official money list. Most of these take place in the off season (November and December). This slate of unofficial events (which includes the PGA Grand Slam of Golf, the Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge, the Franklin Templeton Shootout, the Skins Game, etc.) is referred to as the "Challenge Season" or, less approvingly, the "Silly Season".