Will there ever be a 5th Major Championship on the PGA Tour?

I've heard this question asked and kicked around many times, and the usual answer is; no, there won't ever be a 5th major added to the PGA Tour. Reasons for this answer vary, but the popular answer seems to be that golf is based on history and tradition, and you can't just create a tournament in this era, declare it a Major, and gain instant acceptance from players and fans alike. While I do agree with this rationale, it doesn't defend the answer of "no" to the question, Will there be a 5th major? The Open, Masters, U.S. Open, and PGA Championship tournaments were not all created in the same PGA season. Each of these majors had their turn at being the "new major on the block". Was the Masters an instant hit the first year it was played...hard to say, but one thing is for certain, tradition and history is not an instant trait. You can't create a golf tournament, call it a Major, and have it accepted immediately. However, like everything in life, change happens. Just because there's been 4 Majors as long as most of us can remember, doesn't mean that our grandchildren won't be asking if there will ever be a 6th Major Championship. I know that one day, a tournament will come along that the players respect and enjoy just a little more than all the other regular tour stops. A tournament that's played at a spectacular venue, with all of the top pro's trying to earn a spot on the leaderboard....and a tournament that they would all play, even if there wasn't a dime to be won. This tournament will spawn into what future generations of golfers know as the 5th Major. Will it be the FedEx Cup? Probably not, and I probably won't see this new Major in my lifetime, but I'd be willing to put money on the fact that one day it will happen. But hey, I've been wrong before.

Masters invites top 30 on Fedex & money list.

No longer will the PGA Tour players need to win a tournament to receive an invite to the 2008 Masters. It's been announced that the Masters will invite the top 30 players on the 2007 FedEx points list, as well as the top 30 players on the PGA money list. It has not been decided if the U.S. Open or the Open Championship (British) will follow the Masters lead, however it's nice to see that at least one major championship is embracing the new FedEx format and rewarding those who have done well during it's inaugural season.

http://sports.espn.go.com/golf/news/story?id=3026163

The FedEx Cup a Huge Success!

Well as much as I hate to admit it, Tim Finchem and those in charge of setting up the now infamous FedEx Cup managed to get a darn good showing for the inaugural year. I have to admit that I was skeptical at the beginning of the 2007 season. First off, I didn't quite grasp exactly how the points system was going to work, especially when the playoffs came around, but once things started to get interesting a with a couple of months remaining, I finally had to concede that the FedEx system was doing exactly what it was designed to do, get the best players, to play the best golf, against each other, week in and week out. We got to see Tiger and Phil go head to head on more than one occasion. Young players like Zach Johnson and Chucky Howell III gave us a preview of the young talent that will still be trying to beat Tiger in 10 years. And in the end, Tiger wins, like we didn't see that coming. It would have been nice if Phil could have given Mr. Woods a better run in the Tour Championship, but all in all we got to see some of the best golf in many years. I for one am looking forward to seeing how the FedEx Cup plays out next year...oh yeah, Tiger wins again, I forgot.