– One of the milestones of 2025 was Rory McIlroy’s Grand Slam Career after his victory at the Masters, the only Major he had left to win. As is well known, the Northern Irishman became the sixth player in history to have won each of the four majors at least once, following Gene Sarazen, who was the first to complete it in 1935, Ben Hogan (completed in 1953), Gary Player (1965), Jack Nicklaus (1966), and Tiger Woods (2000).
– The Grand Slam Career is not a common occurrence. It is a very exclusive club that only true legends can join. However, as seen, it happened sixty years ago that two players completed it in consecutive years (Player in 1965 and Nicklaus in 1966), something that could well happen again in 2026, six decades later. Let’s update the ‘great instruction manual’ of the Grand Slam Career to consider the possibilities:
– There are three active players who are one victory away. Scottie Scheffler needs the US Open; Jordan Spieth needs the PGA; and Phil Mickelson also needs the US Open. Spieth could always be counted on, but today he is far from his best form, and it is very difficult to imagine him in May with the Wanamaker trophy in his hands. As for Mickelson, the truth is that he is no longer a favourite in any major event at 55 years old. So, it seems more than evident that Scheffler is the most reasonable option, as the undisputed Number One in the world, unless proven otherwise, will start as a clear candidate for victory every Major week. It has also been fate that Scottie could complete his Grand Slam Career on his thirtieth birthday, which is June 21, the day the US Open 2026 should end unless weather or a natural, social, or political catastrophe says otherwise.
– There are other possibilities for a Grand Slam Career in 2026, much more complicated, of course. Up to eleven active players are two of the four Majors away from completing it, although not all could achieve it. They are Brooks Koepka, Jon Rahm, Xander Schauffele, Colin Morikawa, Dustin Johnson, Martin Kaymer, Zach Johnson, Padraig Harrington, Ángel Cabrera, Ernie Els, and Vijay Singh. From this list, as seen, Kaymer, Zach Johnson, Harrington, Cabrera, Els, and Singh must be discarded, as they will not be able to play the majors they are missing. Dustin Johnson, for his part, will need something very special (or invitations) to be able to play the PGA and the Open, the two he is missing. So, the ‘real’ list is reduced to five players: Koepka (missing Masters and Open), Rahm (PGA and Open), Schauffele (Masters and US Open), and Morikawa (Masters and US Open).
– To achieve it in 2026, four of these five players (all except Schauffele) would need to join another very exclusive club, the club of players who have been able to win two Majors in the same year throughout history. In this club, there are only 22 top players: Gene Sarazen, who achieved it twice (1922, 1932), Walter Hagen (1924), Bobby Jones (1926, 1930), Craig Wood (1941), Ben Hogan (1948, 1951, 1953), Sam Snead (1949), Jack Burke (1956), Arnold Palmer (1960, 1962), Jack Nicklaus (1963, 1966, 1972, 1975, and 1980), Lee Trevino (1971), Gary Player (1974), Tom Watson (1977, 1982), Nick Faldo (1990), Nick Price (1994), Mark O’Meara (1998), Tiger Woods (2000, 2002, 2005, and 2006), Padraig Harrington (2008), Rory McIlroy (2014), Jordan Spieth (2015), Brooks Koepka (2018), Xander Schauffele (2024), and Scottie Scheffler (2025). As seen, Schauffele is already an ‘expert’ in the matter.
– Of course, there is also another larger group of players who could complete their particular Grand Slam Career if they were able to win the three they are missing to complete the set. This group would include, among others, the likes of DeChambeau, Rose, Scott, García, Day… However, only two players in history have won three Majors in the same year: Ben Hogan (1953) and Tiger Woods (2000). Not even the great Nicklaus achieved it, so we will allow ourselves the luxury of not even considering this possibility.
– Rory McIlroy, for his part, now faces another monumental challenge that probably hasn’t even crossed his mind yet: achieving at least two victories in each of the Majors, something only Nicklaus and Tiger have achieved in history. Jack and Woods even have not just two, but at least three victories in each of the four Majors. In any case, it does not seem that this challenge for the Northern Irishman can be completed in 2026, as he still has to complete the double in three of the four majors (Masters, US Open, and Open).
– There is one last and extremely remote option: that an enlightened player comes in 2026 and completes the natural Grand Slam, or in other words, wins all four Majors, one after the other. Since this has never happened in history, we will leave it at that. If Hogan, Nicklaus, and Tiger couldn’t do it (although Woods, as is well known, did win four consecutive Majors: US Open, Open, and PGA in 2000, and Masters in 2001), it simply seems impossible for anyone to achieve it. Until it happens… Has the prodigy capable of achieving it been born yet, or will we have to patiently wait for a peaceful extraterrestrial invasion from the inhabitants of planet Birdie? While THE CHOSEN ONE appears or does not appear, we can only timidly put the name of a candidate on the table. Scottie’s, of course.
