The Majors: In Pursuit of Golf's Holy Grail - Hardcover

Feinstein, John

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0316279714 ISBN 13: 9780316279710

Publisher: Little, Brown, 1999

Synopsis

A chronicle of 1998's major golf tournaments follows Tiger Woods, Fred Couples, and other great players as they compete in the Masters, the U.S. Open, the British Open, and the PGA

About this title

Review:

As much a force of nature in sporting pursuits as John Grisham is on lawyers or Steven King is on the weird, the dauntingly prolific John Feinstein once again steps up to take a swing at golf. While A Good Walk Spoiled chronicles the pressures and tensions of a full season on the PGA Tour, The Majors narrows the vista, and expands the importance, to the chase for the four prestigious titles--the Masters, the U.S. Open, the British Open, and the PGA--that separate the great careers from the pretenders. That the chase occurred in 1998 turns The Majors from a compelling chronicle into a thrilling one.

A thorough reporter, Feinstein does the necessary homework both inside and beyond the ropes. He dusts off history and anecdote to provide perspective and explore how and why these four particular tournaments sprouted such regal fur around their collars. Still, perspective is just background if there's no focus to give it meaning, and he finds a bagful of it in the individual quests and the public and private dramas of, most notably, Fred Couples, Lee Janzen, Tiger Woods, Mark O'Meara, Phil Mickelson, and David Duval. All entered the season with much to prove--to themselves and posterity, and the latter is what the Majors are so imposingly about. As Feinstein observes, "Four days a year, golfers go out to play for Forever. Those are the four Sundays at the major championships. They all know what is at stake." As the record shows, none staked a claim more improbably or excitingly than O'Meara, who put a pair of exclamation points on a long, distinguished--but significantly Major-less--career with stunning, gutsy victories at both the Masters and the British Open. Feinstein records these quests with precision and color; as usual, he aims at a target and shoots better than par. --Jeff Silverman

From the Back Cover:

WHAT DOES IT TAKE to win a major championship and reach the absolute pinnacle of golf? Through a season of the four tournaments -- the Masters, the U.S. Open, the British Open, and the PGA Championship -- known collectively as the majors, John Feinstein takes us where the television cameras never go, both off the links and "inside the ropes", as he reveals the special challenges and rituals, the frustrations and exhilaration, that mark the lives and careers of the world's greatest golfers.

About this edition

• Publisher: Little, Brown
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0316279714
• ISBN 13: 9780316279710
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 480