What's Harder To Win, A Tennis Major Or Golf Major? Gary Player Has His Say

Although both are very different to watch, you could easily argue that both golf and tennis are similar in a number of different ways. Not only are they individual games, but both require an incredible amount of hand-eye co-ordination and concentration to succeed. 

In every sport, there are the big events which every player wants to win and, as is the case with high-level sport, there is always debate about which is the hardest discipline to master. For example, if you go to any pub, you may hear the argument of what is harder - A hole-in-one in golf, 147 in snooker or a nine-darter in darts. 

Obviously, this causes many debates and, at this week's Nedbank Golf Championship in South Africa, tournament host, Gary Player, made the bold claim that it's harder to win a Major championship in golf, than it is in tennis.

Speaking to Sky Sports' Iona Stephen during the third round, the 88-year-old, who was watching the action in Sun City, stated that: "Golf is so different. My wife and I used to have many debates on if it's harder to win a golf Major or a tennis Major. My argument was that, in tennis, you've got to beat seven people. In golf, you've got to beat 156.

"In tennis, and I love tennis, it's my favourite sport to watch and (Novak) Djokovic is my favourite, but he's playing the same seven matches in the same seven conditions. In golf, you can play this morning and it's a different golf course this afternoon. So there's so many variables in golf, like you've got to beat 156 guys and I don't think there's a comparison."

Like in men's golf, tennis also has four Major championships - Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US Open - with Djokovic holding the all-time record of 24 Major singles titles. This isn't where the similarities end though, with the tennis Majors being played on three different playing surfaces - hard, grass and clay, whilst golf's Majors tend to be played over a mix of links, parkland and heathland. 

The formats are different though, with tennis being a straight knockout that requires around six to seven matches to get to the title. Golf, on the other hand, is usually four rounds of 18 holes, with fields ranging anywhere from 85 (Masters usually has 85-100 players) to 156 players.

Then there's the toll it takes on your body. It will be difficult to argue that golf has more of a toll, physically, than tennis does, even though golfers can walk up to eight miles in one round. Tennis is a much faster game and requires more energy but, when it comes to the mental side, golf will possibly edge tennis, given that an average round of golf will take longer than a game of tennis, with golfers having more thinking time for their shots.

Although there have been no instances of golfers moving over to the tennis world, there have been tennis stars winning golf tournaments. Back in April 2023, just one month after shockingly retiring from tennis at 25-years-old and the World No.1, Ash Barty won an event held at Brookwater Golf and Country Club in Brisbane.

So, what does social media have to say? Well, we posted a poll to our social channels, with many agreeing on Players' comments that a golf Major is more difficult to win than a tennis Major. However, we are obviously a golf site and, what we can agree on is that, if you are a Major winner you've deserved it, and it's usually the peak of any sporting career!

Following on from his comment about sporting Majors, Player also spoke about the Nedbank Golf Challenge, which is being played at the Gary Player Country Club, a course the South African designed and one of the most recognized in the world.

With a congested leaderboard, it's anyone's to take on Sunday and, according to Player, it'll take a top individual to do so... "From day one, I had never met Max Homa, but I watched him play in America and I see this young man getting better and better, so I picked him (to win), but that doesn't mean to say he is going to win. 

"We have a host of players and I look at this young man, (Matt) Wallace and what talent he has got. If he can get his mind right because, remember this, it's not the swing, it's not how far you hit the ball, the mind is what wins the tournament. To actually believe you're the best, but sincerely believe it, and I've been a professional now for 70 years and I've only seen, and I'm going to go high, 20 players in my life that had 'it!' Can you define 'it?' No, it's indefinable, it's a gift and I can't tell you what it is.

"You take Usain Bolt. He runs with 10 guys next to him, they are as strong and they are as fast, but every time he wins by a tenth of a second, why? Because he's got 'it'. So, I don't know who has got it, but it's a wonderful scoreboard, an exciting finish and the European players are doing very well and, all in all, we are excited and it's going to be a marvelous tournament."