When it comes to being a grand slam winner in golf, there are only 5 golfers who have ever accomplished this feat; Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Gary Player, Gene Sarazen and Ben Hogan. There are some that think winning your first major is the hardest, while some think that winning your last major is the hardest. While there are 18 players who have won three out of four majors, it’s winning the fourth that brings the coveted title of grand slam.
There are 13 golfers that are stuck on the 3 out of the 4 majors, Jordan Spieth included. Jordan joined the club in July, when he won the British Open. Lucky for Jordan, the fourth major is coming up this weekend, with the PGA Championship, at the Quail Hollow Club in North Carolina. If he can pull off this win, he’ll join the elite team of 5 grand slam champions.
The PGA
The good news for Jordan is that the PGA is seen as golf’s weakest major, so technically he has the easier major left to play. The bad news is that even the strongest golfer can get hung up on an easy course. Golf is such an interesting game, because of the head game that you have to play.
Some notably great golfers got hung up trying to add the PGA to their collection, great golfers like Arnold Palmer and Tom Watson. Even though the two golfers have 15 majors between them, not one of them was able to get the PGA trophy.
Spieth
Spieth is a young’un as far as golf is concerned. At a mere 24 years of age, Spieth was celebrating his first birthday right around the time Arnold Palmer got cut from the PGA championship that he appeared in. Spieth won’t have the easiest of times with this course, despite its reputation as the easiest major. He’s going up against McIlroy, who has won the PGA Championship twice. McIlroy, coincidentally, is also just one major shy of the career grand slam.
Spieth has the chance to make history this weekend, even though McIlroy is favored to win. Spieth is a pretty good golfer, and stands a good chance of taking home his fourth major. Spieth and McIlroy are two of the best golfers in the world, and have gone unchallenged for a while.
As the PGA Championship continues this weekend, it will be exciting to see how each player does. If you’re a golf fan, you have two players that could achieve grand slams within the next two majors. That’s something to celebrate, no matter the outcome.
Source: River’s Edge Golf Blog