Gonna be some serious TV watching, worldwide, of The Open (aka British Open) on the 3rd Friday of July.
Spieth is in select air right now; could get into really rarefied air depending upon his 2015 play in The Open and PGA.
FYI, the "modern" golf majors, since the start of the Masters in 1934, are always played in order each year: Masters, U.S. Open, The Open, PGA Championship.
No one has ever won the Grand Slam, if defined as winning all four in a single calendar year.
Tiger won the U.S. Open, The Open, and PGA Championship in one year (2001), then won the next year's (2002) first tournament, the Masters, making him the holder of all 4 titles at once, the only one to ever do that --- it's referred to as a "Tiger Slam."
Sarazen, Hogan, Player, Nicklaus, and Woods have career slams (won all 4 at ANY time), with Nicklaus and Woods having THREE career slams, winning all 4 majors 3 times each!!
Noted pros with 3 all-time majors, but missing one for their career include (golfer, total major wins, missing win):
Hagen, 11, Masters
Trevino, 6, Masters
McIlroy, 4, Masters
Snead, 7, US Open
Mickelson, 5, US Open
Watson, 8, PGA Championship
Palmer, 7, PGA Champsionship
The only 6 golfers noted in the graphic above who have won the Masters and then the US Open to start the year are Wood (1941), Hogan (twice, 1951, 1952), Palmer (1960), Nicklaus (1972), Woods (2002). and now, one young Mister Jordan Spieth, all of 21 years of youth. Hogan, Palmer, Nicklaus, and Woods ---- that's some pretty good list of names to be included with when noting accomplishments.
Looks like the next few years, barring injury or other misfortune, we could be watching McIlroy v. Spieth highlight reels, with sidebars of Lefty (Mickelson) trying a couple more years to get that elusive US Open title to get his career slam.
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Last edited: Jun 22, 2015
