With his dramatic Masters victory Sunday, Rory McIlroy became the sixth golfer in the history of the sport to complete a career grand slam. He is also the player who took the longest to achieve the feat, achieving it on his 11th attempt. Now, we look to the rest of the current crop of talent to see who has the best chance of following in his footsteps.
Grand Slam Champs
The most prestigious group in golf is the six gentlemen who have captured all four of golf’s biggest prizes: The Masters, U.S. Open, Open, and PGA Championship. The first player to complete the feat almost 100 years ago was Gene Sarazen. His 1935 Masters victory was the inception of the illustrious group and wasn’t done again for another 20 years when the legendary Ben Hogan won the 1953 Open.
The first (and used to be only) international player to join the group was Gary Player after his 1965 U.S. Open win. Two of golf’s greatest players Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods used to round out that list. They are also the only two players in the history of the sport with multiple wins in each major. After Rory’s Masters victory, there are a few golfers who are on the precipice of completing the grand slam. Let’s find out who has the best chance of reaching immortality.
Outside Contenders for the Next Grand Slam
Phil Mickelson
Mickelson is one of two current golfers who have won 3 of the 4 majors. He is also one of 8 golfers to have won at least three Masters titles. The only major that still eludes him is a U.S. Open championship. Funny enough, Michelson is one of the best players when it comes to the tournament. He has the most runner-up finishes all time at the major having finished second best six times. At age 54 Father Time is chasing Mickelson down. Although he became the oldest major winner at the age of 50 at the PGA Championship, the likelihood of joining the Grand Slam Club is dwindling.
Jordan Speith
Spieth is the other current golfer to also have won 3 of the 4 majors. He also completed the feat so young at the age of 25. After his Open Championship win in 2017, it seemed a matter of when and not if he would complete the grand slam. But the last six years turned one of golf’s greatest talents into one of its greatest ‘what-ifs’. In that time Speith has just two wins on Tour, the most recent being in 2022. The golfer we saw burst onto the scene has seemed to have left the sport. Speith hasn’t had a terrible season with 4 top-15 finishes. He’s regained a little bit of form but he is still far from a player you are confident in come Major time.
3 Major Contenders for the Next Grand Slam Winner
Colin Morakawa
There are many current players with two majors under their belt who are more than capable of completing the grand slam. Two of the best in the sport right now would be Colin Morakawa and Xander Shauffele. It’s been a good few years removed now from Morikawa’s PGA and Open wins. He’s only had one PGA Tour win since, but has played some really good golf this year. He’s finished with multiple second places and hasn’t finished outside T17 all year.
Xander Shauffele
Shauffele is a different story after his historic 2024 winning the PGA and Open. Injuries have hindered his 2025 season after being out for 2 months. But with back-to-back top-12 finishes Shauffele’s form is slowly morphing back into major champion level.
John Rahm
John Rahm is another name who is certainly in the running for a grand slam. Rahm had a torrid time during last year’s majors but is certainly back on the right trajectory. Rahm hasn’t had a single finish outside the top-10 on the Liv Tour all season and finished T14 at The Masters. The talent is there for Rahm to become a grand slam winner.
