What was the best major of 2013?

The four majors of the PGA Tour season are over, but that doesn’t mean we have to stop talking about them. With the PGA Championship wrapping up on Sunday, we take a look back at all four majors and rank them in order of excitement considering the courses, the contenders and the final round.

4) PGA Championship — Usually the one that ends with the most excitement each season, this Sunday at Oak Hill didn’t lack big names, it just lacked that moment and that shot that pushed someone over the edge or lost the tournament for them. Jason Dufner played a great round on Sunday to snag his first major championship, but most of the guys that were chasing him couldn’t pull off the shots or make the putts needed to give the man searching for his first major trophy a real scare.

It also lacked a little pizzazz in the final few groups. Dufner is a great player, but his demeanor on the course is pretty low key. Jim Furyk was paired with him, another guy that isn’t really moving the sports needle, and while names like Adam Scott, Jason Day and Rory McIlroy had a chance heading into the final round, it was Dufner who shot the round of the day to win.

Dufner deserved this championship, and his final round was great, but the tournament didn’t have a real moment of intense excitement like the other three majors did.

3) U.S. Open — It was an exciting final round at Merion, with Phil Mickelson three-putted holes early only to toss in an eagle to take back the lead as he searched for his first U.S. Open title, but it was a “grind it out” mentality that a lot of the leaders were forced to take late on Sunday evening, and it was a par-par finish for Justin Rose that eventually won him the golf tournament.

The leaderboard had a ton of big names on it, with Rose and Mickelson battling, with Jason Day, Jason Dufner, Ernie Els and Hunter Mahan all making their own respective charges, but it was just a par at the last to win for Rose.

Mickelson collapsed a little at the end, and despite a chip on the 18th hole to force a playoff, the shot was more of a hero attempt than a legitimate chance at a hole-out.

2) British Open — What started out as a Sunday with a lot of pressure on Tiger Woods ended with a performance from the biggest rival of his career, as Phil Mickelson put together the round of the year to win his first ever British Open.

The tournament had everything except a playoff, with Lee Westwood heading into the final round with a two-shot lead, chased by Hunter Mahan and Woods.

Mickelson sat five shots back of Westwood when the day started, but the way he closed his round at Muirfield was as impressive as you’ll ever see. Lefty birdied four of his final six holes, including the last two, highlighted by clutch shot after clutch shot as he wrapped his hands around the Claret Jug.

The round was so good Phil ended up winning the Open by three shots, an accomplishment that will rank as high as any in Mickelson’s career when he finally hangs up his spikes.

1) The Masters — The opening major of 2013 is our pick for major of the year because it literally had everything you’d want over the course of the weekend. Angel Cabrera headed into the final round searching for a second green jacket as Brandt Snedeker, Adam Scott, Jason Day and Marc Leishman all looked to snag a first major.

Day looked like he would be the Australian to snag this elusive green jacket, leading with three holes to go, but bogeys on both 17 and 18 left him so beat up he was even caught saying, “I should have won this,” after his round concluded.

Then came the fireworks from Scott and Cabrera. Scott came to the final hole needing a birdie, and after two great shots had a putt to do just that. It went in, his reaction was priceless, and he held a one-shot lead over Cabrera who was in the 18th fairway.

Cabrera then pulled off the swing of the tournament, sticking his approach shot to just a couple of feet for the birdie and to force a playoff with Scott. He rolled in the putt, and after the two shared pars on the first playoff hole, they moved to the 10th, where Bubba Watson famously hit the shot of the season a year ago in his own playoff.

Scott made his second birdie in three holes, rolling in a tough putt to win his first major championship and become the first Australian to win at Augusta National.

All this and we haven’t even mentioned what happened with Tiger Woods and the flagstick, the drop and the penalty. That was a huge storyline for the first major of the year, and basically doomed Tiger’s chances at finally getting that 15th major and basically changing the outcome of the entire 2013 season.

Devil Ball Golf – Golf – Yahoo! Sports