Their PGA Tour's new television ad, showcasing the history of The Players Championship with some striking imagery and iconic moments, notably concludes with the tagline, 'March is going to be major'.

The PGA Tour's marketing department is clearly pushing for it to be one – and as far as a play on words goes, this was not particularly subtle.

The thing is, tradition aside, the PGA Tour's argument actually has some merit. The Players' field is, according to the rankings, the strongest in golf, and the purse and winner's cheque are the highest on tour.

Currently, the four Major championships are owned by Augusta National Golf Club (The Masters), The R&A (The Open), the USGA (The US Open) and the PGA of America (The PGA Championship). With only the biennial Presidents Cup to call its own, the PGA Tour is seemingly desperate for an event of Major stature, and the Players Championship ticks most boxes.

'Fans and players have long discussed The Players Championship's status as a Major,' a recent PGA Tour statement declared. 'We understand that it is not for us to decide. Ultimately, it is up to our sport and its fans to recognise what the professionals who play the game already know.'

Could it be?

The notion presents a few challenges. For starters, the only real motivation for adding another Major to the calendar should be the opportunity to grow the game across the world. Having four out of five Majors played in the USA does not advance that goal.

Then we'd need clarity on whether past Players Championships would be backdated as Majors. In which case Jack Nicklaus, a three-time champion, would boost his Major tally to 21. South Africa has tasted success once at the event – Tim Clark in 2010.

The most notable hurdle, however, might be getting it past the golfers themselves. Rory McIlroy is a two-time winner and the defending Players champion, and even he is against the idea of it becoming a fifth Major championship.

'I'm a traditionalist, I'm a historian of the game. We have four Major championships. The Players doesn't need to be anything else. I would say it's got more of an identity than the PGA Championship does at the minute. So from an identity standpoint, I think the Players has got it nailed. It stands on its own without the label.'

Now in its 52nd edition, the Players Championship already has a proud history and the past champions' list reads like a who's who of golf. The list of multiple winners is even better – alongside McIlroy with two wins are current world No1 Scottie Scheffler, Tiger Woods, Fred Couples, Davis Love III, Hal Sutton and Steve Elkington.

Only Jack Nicklaus, the inaugural champion, has three Players Championship titles to his name, although one suspects it won't be too long before either Scheffler or McIlroy join or pass him.

Nicklaus' three titles came at three different courses, as the fledgling tournament initially moved around a bit, before settling at Pete Dye's Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass in 1982.

Built on what was swampland, Dye moved millions of cubic metres of earth to create towering mounds around the golf holes, giving spectators and TV crews unobstructed views of the course and creating its stadium-like atmosphere. The layout was hardly an instant success with players, who considered it very long, with firm greens that were tricky to hit. JC Snead went so far as to say that Dye had 'ruined a perfectly good swamp.'

Then, of course, you had the iconic closing stretch of holes, including the famous semi-island green 17th.

With a purse of $25-million (R400m), including a winner's cheque for $4.5m (over R70m) on the line, it may not matter whether The Players Championship is a Major championship or not. Win it, and you're set for life.

Read more in the GARY LEMKE COLUMN here.