Brandel Chamblee may have rated The Players "the best major" on February 7, but three days later, Rory McIlroy expressed a completely contradicting opinion about the same tournament.

Speaking to reporters on February 10, 2026, before the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Rory McIlroy disagreed with the 63-year-old Golf Channel analyst’s bold claim that The Players Championship should be a major and is better than the four traditional majors.

The 2x Players champion said, "We have four major championships. If you wanna see what five major championships looks like, look at the women's game. I don't know how well that's went for them."

The Northern Irishman praised The Players as one of golf's finest events. He just doesn't think it needs a rebrand it as a major to prove its glory.

"It is an amazing tournament in its own right," McIlroy said. "I don't think it being classified as a major or not a major makes it any more or any less. It stands on its own without the label."

Chamblee shared his opinion live at the WM Phoenix Open. He said The Players has the strongest field, one of the toughest winning records in 50 years, and a course at TPC Sawgrass that is just as challenging as any major.

 "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," Chamblee said.

His comment sparked debate across the golf world for days.

McIlroy, who calls himself a traditionalist, doesn’t agree with that argument, no matter how strong the stats may seem.

McIlroy's Fix for the PGA Championship

Interestingly, McIlroy didn’t just defend the four-major system. He also took a shot at one of them. When asked about the PGA Championship’s identity, he gave a blunt answer.

"I think glory's last shot, I think it needs to go back to August," McIlroy said at Pebble Beach on Tuesday.

The PGA Championship moved from August to May in 2019, and not everyone agreed with the change. McIlroy statement indicates that he believes the move made the tournament lose something it hasn’t really gotten back.

Moreover, he also lauded The Players' relevance counting it more recognizable than the PGA Championship.

"I would say it's got more of an identity than the PGA Championship does at the minute," McIlroy said. "From an identity standpoint, I think The Players has got it nailed."

So, the 36-year-old seems to have expressed his opinion on another issue besides contradicting Chamblee's take about The Players'. Would you like to agree with it?

Follow Club Golf for more.

Written by

Sneha Abraham

Edited by

Souvik Roy