Only five men in the history of golf have completed the career Grand Slam.
Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods won all four major championships. It’s perhaps the most special accomplishment in the game—many of the game’s legends have fallen short.
Arnold Palmer and Tom Watson never won the PGA Championship. Sam Snead never won the U.S. Open. Byron Nelson never won an Open Championship. Lee Trevino and Walter Hagen never won the Masters. All came one major short of the slam.
In more recent times, multiple players have put themselves close. Rory McIlroy needs the Masters, Phil Mickelson needs the U.S. Open and Jordan Spieth needs the PGA Championship.
My best bet for a player in this era to achieve the career grand slam is someone who is two majors away from doing it.
Xander Schauffele.
The case for Schauffele
What a difference one year makes.
Coming into this season, we were talking about how Schauffele needed a major to validate his career. He had been close several times but couldn’t come through in big moments.
That narrative intensified as Schauffele kicked away the Players Championship in March. Two months later, McIlroy surpassed him on Sunday at the Wells Fargo Championship.
However, Schauffele rebounded with a victory in the PGA Championship at Valhalla. It might not have been the best major venue but it relieved a ton of pressure on one of the top players in the world.
Two months after that win, he captured the Open Championship at Royal Troon. Now Schauffele is halfway to the slam. That puts him ahead of guys like Scottie Scheffler, Bryson DeChambeau and Justin Thomas—all three have won the same major twice, meaning they need three more (different) majors to get there.
While Schauffele isn’t technically as close to the slam as McIlroy, Spieth and Mickelson, he might be get there before them.
The two majors he needs to win are the Masters and U.S. Open. It’s counterintuitive but Schauffele has played better in those two majors throughout his career than he has at the PGA Championship and Open Championship.
As for the Masters, Schauffele has four top-10 finishes since 2019. He had legitimate looks to win in 2019 (T2) and 2021 (T3), falling to Tiger Woods and Hideki Matsuyama respectively.
And Schauffele’s best major is actually the U.S. Open. He’s never finished worse than T14 across eight starts. That is remarkable consistency.
Schauffele is only 30 years old and could have another decade-plus of chances to win the Masters and U.S. Open—two majors where he excels almost every single appearance.
If you add in Schauffele’s statistical profile, that makes his chances of winning the Masters and U.S. Open even more enticing. Schauffele lacks any weakness, ranking well above average in all the major Strokes Gained categories.
His ability to putt at a high level each season is particularly impressive. Here are Schauffele’s Strokes Gained putting rankings dating back to 2016-2017: 27th, 66th, 46th, 33rd, 16th, 32nd, 5th and 10th.
Combine that ability with sublime tee-to-green play and Schauffele is difficult to sink.
His ball-striking acumen is not at the same height as Scheffler’s but Schauffele is the more well-rounded player on a week-to-week basis. Take a look at their Strokes Gained comparison.
Scheffler (red) is slightly ahead of Schauffele (blue) when it comes to ball-striking and chipping/pitching. However, Schauffele is well ahead of Scheffler in the putting category.
It just shows how dangerous Schauffele is, considering that Scheffler is in arguably the best stretch of golf since Tiger in the 2000s.
I know there is a heavy dose of recent bias involved here but I believe Schauffele will complete the career grand slam. Given his consistency and the amount of time he has left, my prediction is that he reaches four majors—winning one of each by the time it’s all done.
And I think he’ll do it before anyone else in the post-Tiger generation,
Will anyone else complete it?
There are several players who have a chance to complete the slam throughout their careers. Let’s take a look at each of them individually, sorted by how close they are to the finish line. I’ve also included my prediction for whether they will ultimately snag all four majors.
1. Rory McIlroy
- Won: PGA Championship (2012, 2014), U.S. Open (2011), Open Championship (2014)
- Needs: Masters
My Guess: No
McIlroy will be 36 next year and doesn’t have quite as much time as we assume. His superpower is his driver. I don’t think that will last at the same level for another 10 years. He might have another handful of great chances heading into the Masters but it’s become a mental burden at this point. He’s still at the top of his game and it’s just one week but there are only so many opportunities left. With each passing year, it only gets harder—and outside of 2011 when he collapsed after a 54-hole lead, McIlroy hasn’t had a single good look at winning a green jacket.
2. Jordan Spieth
- Won: Masters (2015), U.S. Open (2015), Open Championship (2017)
- Needs: PGA Championship
My Guess: No
Spieth, 30, has more time than McIlroy. My big issue with Spieth is that his best golf came at the beginning of his career. It’s been a regression to good-but-not-great status since 2018. An erratic driver of the ball who isn’t long enough to offset that inaccuracy disadvantage, Spieth’s best looks at majors will likely come in the Masters and Open Championship where his creativity can shine. The PGA Championship is traditionally played on long courses with thick rough—not exactly a positive for Spieth—but maybe modern layouts like PGA Frisco (2027 and 2034 host) in his home state of Texas could be kinder to him. I still don’t think he gets a PGA.
3. Phil Mickelson
- Won: Masters (2004, 2006, 2010), PGA Championship (2005, 2021), Open Championship (2013)
- Needs: U.S. Open
My Guess: No
This will be a short one. Mickelson is 54 years old. Maybe something crazy happens and he contends in a Masters or Open Championship once again but it’s hard to envision him winning a U.S. Open.
4. Jon Rahm
- Won: Masters (2023) and U.S. Open (2021)
- Needs: PGA Championship and Open Championship
My Guess: No
Rahm, 29, is still a top player with a lot of golf ahead of him. While 2024 was a lost year of sorts, it would be surprising if he didn’t come back motivated next year and beyond, now that the LIV transition has settled. Strangely, he’s had a tough time in the PGA Championship while excelling in the U.S. Open, a similar tournament. The Open Championship has been better to him—he has three top-seven finishes in his last four starts. Rahm should have more majors in his future but I think he will add to his Masters and U.S. Open tallies rather than getting the other two.
5. Brooks Koepka
- Won: PGA Championship (2018, 2019, 2023), U.S. Open (2017, 2018)
- Needs: Masters and Open Championship
My Guess: No
Koepka, 34, has five majors but still needs two more legs for the career slam. He’s one of several LIV players who struggled in majors for 2024, but Koepka has a track record of rebounding. The Masters is one of his favorite events—he narrowly missed out on the green jacket in 2019 and 2023, finishing runner-up both times. He’s been just OK (by his standards) in the Open Championship, never seriously contending. It’s definitely possible but age and time are probably running against him. I think this generation of player is far more likely to retire early than the Tiger/Phil generation. My guess is that Koepka gets a Masters but not an Open Championship.
6. Collin Morikawa
- Won: PGA Championship (2020), Open Championship (2021)
- Needs: Masters and U.S. Open
My Guess: NO
I’m torn on Morikawa. He is only 27 and doesn’t rely on length to contend but that is also a serious drawback when competing against some of the other top players. Morikawa’s last three Masters have gone 5-T10-T3 while he has a pair of recent top-five finishes in the U.S. Open. It’s certainly possible. I’m concerned he will get into contention a lot but will need to be freakishly good with his approach play to win majors. I think he has more majors in his future but winning all four might be a stretch.
7. Scottie Scheffler
- Won: Masters (2022, 2024)
- Needs: PGA Championship, U.S. Open, Open Championship
My Guess: Yes
Aha! Yes, we have one on this list (in addition to Schauffele). I don’t want anyone to lose sight of how good Scheffler is at golf. Like Schauffele, he is going to be in contention many times over the next 10 years. He just turned 28 and has so much time ahead of him. In the past four major seasons, he has eight top-10 finishes he hasn’t won yet. I would be very surprised if he doesn’t win a PGA Championship and a U.S. Open. The Open Championship is a bit of a wild card but it only takes one week. I think Scheffler will win six majors in his career, getting at least one of each—although it will come after Schauffele reaches that milestone.
8. Bryson DeChambeau
- Won: U.S. Open (2020, 2024)
- Needs: Masters, PGA Championship, Open Championship
My Guess: No
I think DeChambeau will win a PGA Championship in his career and he could add to his U.S. Open total. The other two majors will be more difficult. DeChambeau has been mostly flummoxed by Augusta National, although a T6 result last year might give him confidence moving forward. He has yet to have any hope in the Open Championship, even stating that the conditions have to be calm for him to really have a chance. We’ll see if the stars ever align for him there.
Top Photo Caption: Xander Schauffele and Rory McIlroy are two players with a great chance of completing the career Grand Slam. (GETTY IMAGES/Andrew Redington)
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