Masters win would give Rory McIlroy a grand slam. History says it’s not easy
A challenge as the 89th Masters begins: Discuss themes for the year’s first major golf championship for more than five minutes without mentioning Rory McIlroy’s quest for the career grand slam.
The topic, at least this week, might be harder to ignore than to achieve.
Winning one of the majors — the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship or The Open Championship — is significant. Win two and become a household name. Three is the stuff of legends, and four ... well, the list is brief.
Golf aficionados can reel off the names of those who own their sport’s career grand slam: Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods.
Notice any “names” missing?
The roster of those who have fallen short magnifies the challenge.
Arnold Palmer did not join that exclusive cadre. Neither did Sam Snead nor Byron Nelson nor Lee Trevino nor Tom Watson.
Some had great opportunities. Palmer missed a putt that would’ve won the PGA. Snead made a mess of the final hole in a U.S. Open. Nelson hurt his chances by venturing overseas to compete in The Open only twice.
McIlroy (Masters), Jordan Spieth (PGA) and Phil Mickelson (U.S. Open) are current players with the holy grail of golf within reach. And Mickelson can identify with Snead. How many times has the U.S. Open slipped through his fingers either through an opponent’s heroics or his own Snead-like blunder?
The time frame is another indicator that emphasizes the difficulty. Only Woods has achieved golf’s career grand slam since 1966.
Sarazen, one of the game’s early stars, won the 1935 Masters to complete his slam — long before the grand slam term was applied to golf. Hogan came next in the 1953 Open (the only time he played in the tournament). Player joined the fraternity with the 1965 U.S. Open title, and Nicklaus followed a year later in The Open.
Thirty-four years later, in The Open, Woods became the fifth player to join the fraternity.
McIlrory’s chances? The oddsmakers make him one of the Masters favorites. This will be his 11th try since winning the third leg of the career slam, the 2014 Open.
He knows what’s at stake and said this Tuesday: “Look, when you have a long career like I have had, luckily, you sort of just learn to roll with the punches. The good times, the bad times, knowing that if you do the right work and you practice the right way, that those disappointments will turn into good times again pretty soon.”
Maybe one of those good times will be Sunday afternoon.
GRAND SLAM FACTS
Grand Slam Winners (year completed): Gene Sarazen (1935), Ben Hogan (1953), Gary Player (1965), Jack Nicklaus (1966), Tiger Woods (2000).
Most major championships: Jack Nicklaus 18, Tiger Woods 15, Walter Hagen 11, Ben Hogan 9, Gary Player 9, Tom Watson 8, Harry Vardon 7, Bobby Jones 7, Gene Sarazen 7, Sam Snead 7, Arnold Palmer 7, Lee Trevino 6, Nick Faldo 6, Phil Mickelson 6.
Players with three different majors (missing title in parenthesis): Jim Barnes (Masters), Tommy Armour (Masters), Walter Hagen (Masters), Byron Nelson (Open), Sam Snead (U.S. Open), Arnold Palmer (PGA), Lee Trevino (Masters), Raymond Floyd (Open), Tom Watson (PGA), Phil Mickelson (U.S. Open), Jordan Spieth (PGA), Rory McIlrory (Masters).
Odds and ends: The careers of Barnes and Armour before the Masters began, and Hagen, toward the end of his competitive days, played in only a couple of Masters. ... Jones won his seven in the U.S. Open (4) and Open (3). As an amateur, he was ineligible for the PGA and, although he played in early Masters, his competitive career had ended. ... Collin Morikawa (PGA, Open), Xander Schauffele (PGA, Open) and Brooks Koepka (3 PGAs, 2 U.S. Opens) will be seeking the third different major at the Masters. Scottie Scheffler (Masters) and Justin Thomas (PGA) have won the same major twice.
This story was originally published April 9, 2025 at 12:48 PM.