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A Grand Slam in golf means winning all 4 major championships. The 4 majors are the Masters, the US Open, The Open Championship (British Open), and the PGA Championship.
Only 5 men and 6 women have won a career Grand Slam.
The 4 major championships
| Major | Venue | Month | Organized by | 2024 purse |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Masters | Augusta National, Georgia (same course every year) | April | Augusta National Golf Club | $20 million |
| PGA Championship | Rotates among US courses | May | PGA of America | $17.5 million |
| US Open | Rotates among US courses | June | USGA | $21.5 million |
| The Open Championship | Rotates among UK links courses | July | R&A | $17 million |
Career Grand Slam holders (men)
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| Player | Career Grand Slam completed | Total majors won |
|---|---|---|
| Gene Sarazen | 1935 (won The Open) | 7 |
| Ben Hogan | 1953 (won The Open) | 9 |
| Gary Player | 1965 (won US Open) | 9 |
| Jack Nicklaus | 1966 (won The Open) | 18 |
| Tiger Woods | 2000 (won The Open) | 15 |
Jack Nicklaus holds the record with 18 major wins. Tiger Woods has 15. No other golfer has more than 11 (Walter Hagen).
Has anyone won all 4 majors in a single year?
No male professional golfer has won all 4 majors in a single calendar year. Bobby Jones came closest in 1930, winning the US Open, The Open, the US Amateur, and the British Amateur. That was called a "Grand Slam" at the time, but those were the 4 major events of that era (before the Masters existed).
Tiger Woods held all 4 major trophies at the same time from 2000 to 2001. He won the US Open (June 2000), The Open (July 2000), the PGA Championship (August 2000), and the Masters (April 2001). The media called it the "Tiger Slam." It wasn't a calendar-year Grand Slam, but it was all 4 in a row.
Career Grand Slam holders (women)
| Player | Career Grand Slam completed |
|---|---|
| Pat Bradley | 1986 |
| Juli Inkster | 1999 |
| Karrie Webb | 2002 |
| Annika Sorenstam | 2003 |
| Se Ri Pak | 2004 |
| Inbee Park | 2015 |
The women's majors have changed over the years. The current 5 LPGA majors are the Chevron Championship, KPMG Women's PGA, US Women's Open, Women's Open, and Evian Championship.
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Who is closest to completing a career Grand Slam?
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Several active players have won 3 of the 4 majors and need just 1 more:
- Rory McIlroy needs the Masters. He's finished in the top 10 at Augusta 8 times but hasn't won.
- Jordan Spieth needs the PGA Championship. He won the Masters, US Open, and Open by age 24.
Completing a Grand Slam gets harder as you age. Of the 5 men who did it, all completed the slam before age 38.
Major wins by active players
| Player | Majors won | Missing for Grand Slam |
|---|---|---|
| Rory McIlroy | 4 (US Open, Open x2, PGA) | Masters |
| Jordan Spieth | 3 (Masters, US Open, Open) | PGA Championship |
| Brooks Koepka | 5 (US Open x2, PGA x3) | Masters, Open |
| Jon Rahm | 2 (US Open, Masters) | Open, PGA |
| Scottie Scheffler | 2 (Masters x2) | US Open, Open, PGA |
Why majors matter more than regular tournaments
Majors have the strongest fields. All top-50 world-ranked players qualify. The courses are set up to be harder than regular Tour events, with tighter fairways, faster greens, and thicker rough.
A golfer's legacy is measured primarily by major wins. Phil Mickelson has 45 PGA Tour wins and 6 majors. His career is defined by the 6 majors and his near-misses at the US Open (runner-up 6 times).
The career Grand Slam is considered the highest achievement in professional golf because it proves a player can win on the widest variety of courses and conditions. Each major tests different skills: Augusta rewards eagles and course management, the US Open punishes mistakes, The Open demands wind play on links courses, and the PGA Championship tests all-around ability.
All-time major wins leaders
| Player | Majors | Masters | US Open | Open | PGA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jack Nicklaus | 18 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 5 |
| Tiger Woods | 15 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| Walter Hagen | 11 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 5 |
| Ben Hogan | 9 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 2 |
| Gary Player | 9 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| Tom Watson | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
The Tiger Slam in detail
Tiger Woods' run from June 2000 to April 2001 is the closest anyone has come to holding all 4 major trophies in the modern era.
- 2000 US Open, Pebble Beach: Won by 15 strokes. The largest margin of victory in major championship history. Shot -12 while the runner-up (Ernie Els) was +3.
- 2000 Open Championship, St Andrews: Won by 8 strokes at -19. Avoided every bunker on the Old Course for 72 holes.
- 2000 PGA Championship, Valhalla: Won in a playoff over Bob May. Both players shot -18 for 72 holes.
- 2001 Masters, Augusta National: Won by 2 strokes at -16. Completed the "Tiger Slam" and held all 4 major trophies simultaneously.
During this stretch, Woods played 16 competitive rounds in majors and shot 65 or better 6 times. His total score for those 4 tournaments was -65 relative to par. No other golfer in history has sustained that level across 4 consecutive majors.
The closest misses
Arnold Palmer, 1960: Won the Masters and US Open. Finished 2nd at The Open Championship (1 shot behind Kel Nagle). Didn't contend at the PGA Championship.
Ben Hogan, 1953: Won the Masters, US Open, and Open Championship. Couldn't play the PGA Championship because it overlapped with The Open on the schedule (different dates back then). He might have completed a calendar Grand Slam if the dates had been different.
Jordan Spieth, 2015: Won the Masters (-18) and US Open at Chambers Bay. Finished T4 at The Open and T2 at the PGA Championship (1 shot behind Jason Day). At 21 years old, he came close to winning 3 majors in one year.
What makes the Grand Slam so hard?
Each major tests different skills on different course types:
- The Masters (Augusta National): Demands precise approach shots to sloped, fast greens. The course rewards length (reaching par 5s in 2) and short game creativity. Left-to-right players (faders) historically struggle because many holes favor a right-to-left ball flight.
- US Open: USGA course setup punishes mistakes with thick rough, narrow fairways, and firm greens. Favors accuracy and mental toughness over raw distance. Winning score is often near par.
- The Open Championship: Played on firm, fast links courses with unpredictable coastal wind. Demands creativity and shot-making: bump-and-run approaches, low punch shots under wind, and comfort with bouncy, uneven lies.
- PGA Championship: Played on a variety of American courses. Tests all-around ability. The field is the largest (20 club professionals qualify alongside Tour players). Historically the most "democratic" major.
Winning all 4 means excelling at precision (Masters), grinding (US Open), creativity (The Open), and completeness (PGA). That range of skills across 4 different weeks, against 4 different course types, is why only 5 men have done it in 150+ years of professional golf.
