It’s difficult enough to win any golf tournament, let alone one of the four major championships, which consist of The Masters, the PGA Championship, the U.S. Open, and The Open Championship.
Winning even one major is a tremendous accomplishment in a player’s career. But winning all four is truly something special, which is why this exclusive club of golfers to win the career Grand Slam features just five names: Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, and Tiger Woods.
Nicklaus and Woods, who have 33 major championship titles between them, took things a step further. While the other three legends achieved the feat once each, Jack and Tiger won it three times apiece.
Several golfers, including the likes of Arnold Palmer, Walter Hagen, Sam Snead, and Byron Nelson, won three legs of the career Grand Slam but couldn’t finish it off. There are also currently three players who still have a chance to complete it.
Phil Mickelson needs only to win the U.S. Open, where he’s finished second six times. Rory McIlroy needs only to win The Masters. And Jordan Spieth needs only to win the PGA Championship.
To clarify, the modern-era Grand Slam isn’t to be confused with the original Grand Slam, which consisted of the U.S. Open, The Open Championship, the U.S. Amateur, and the British Amateur. Bobby Jones was the only player to win the original and famously won all four in the same year in 1930.
Let’s take a closer look at the five players to complete the modern version.
Gene Sarazen
Gene Sarazen won seven major championships during his Hall of Fame career, capturing his first two in 1922 with victories at the U.S. Open and PGA Championship, both of which he ultimately won multiple times.
The New York native added The Open Championship in 1932, going wire-to-wire at Prince’s Golf Club to take a five-stroke victory. He was also the only player in the field that week to finish in red numbers, shooting 70-69-70-74 to finish at 5-under.
In 1935, Sarazen won just the second-ever edition of The Masters, thus becoming the first to complete the modern career Grand Slam.
Ben Hogan
Ben Hogan won nine major championships during his career, tying him for the fourth-most in history. Incredibly, six of those victories came after the 1949 car crash that not only nearly ended his golf career but also nearly cost him his life.
Already having won the PGA Championship and the U.S. Open, Hogan added the first of two Masters titles in 1951. He added a second green jacket in 1953, a season in which he also won the U.S. Open and completed the career Grand Slam with a win at The Open Championship.
Sadly, Hogan was unable to attempt the single-season Slam that year as The Open and PGA Championship overlapped. At the time, Hogan was the only player to win three majors in the same calendar year.
Gary Player
Tied in that fourth spot with Hogan with nine major championship victories is Gary Player, who captured his first at the 1959 edition of The Open Championship, a tournament he ultimately won three times.
The South African legend added the first of three Masters wins in 1961 and the first of two PGA Championship victories in 1962. Player then completed his Slam in 1965 at the U.S. Open, defeating Kel Nagle in an 18-hole Monday playoff at Bellerive Country Club.
With multiple victories at three of the four majors, he nearly completed the career Grand Slam for a second time at the 1979 U.S. Open but fell just short, tying for second.
Jack Nicklaus
Jack Nicklaus turned pro in late 1961 and quickly captured his first major championship victory at the 1962 U.S. Open, famously besting his longtime rival and friend Arnold Palmer in an 18-hole playoff at Oakmont Country Club.
The following year, the “Golden Bear” notched the first of his record six victories at The Masters and also won the first of four PGA Championship titles.
In 1966, 26-year-old Nicklaus became the then-youngest player to achieve the career Grand Slam, taking a one-stroke victory at Muirfield Golf Links. Jack, of course, later named his Muirfield Village design after the famed Scottish course.
As mentioned, Nicklaus ultimately won the career Grand Slam three times and owns a record 18 major championship victories. What’s wild is that he could have had plenty more as he notched 19 runner-up finishes in majors, also an all-time record.
Tiger Woods
Like Nicklaus, Tiger Woods won his first major during his first full season on the PGA Tour. After turning pro in August 1996, the three-time U.S. Amateur champion made history by becoming the youngest Masters winner in history in 1997 at age 21. He also set a new record for the largest margin of victory at Augusta with a 12-stroke win.
In 1999, Tiger won major number two, notching the first of four victories at the PGA Championship. Then came his record-setting 2000 campaign in which he earned nine victories, including three majors. He won by a record 15 shots at Pebble Beach to claim the first of three U.S. Open titles.
Woods then broke Nicklaus’ record by becoming the youngest to complete the career Grand Slam at age 24 with an eight-shot victory at The Open Championship at St. Andrews. He then won the 2000 PGA Championship and followed it up with a victory at the 2001 Masters to complete the “Tiger Slam,” becoming the only player in the modern era to hold all four majors simultaneously.
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Every Golfer to Win the Career Grand Slam