TULSA, Okla. – Only five golfers throughout history have won all four modern majors that make up the career Grand Slam: Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Ben Hogan, Gary Player and Gene Sarazen.
Jordan Spieth could add his name to that list this week at Southern Hills with a win at the PGA Championship, and he has a few things working in his favor.
For starters, only the greens at Southern Hills are bent grass. The rest of the golf course features similar bermuda grass to that Spieth grew up playing and is comfortable on.
Secondly, Spieth comes in with good form, having won in a playoff at the RBC Heritage the week after the Masters and finishing runner-up to K.H. Lee just three days ago at the AT&T Byron Nelson.
Finally, the proximity to home for Spieth, who lives just across the Red River in the Dallas area. He was able to make the short trip to Tulsa the Monday of Byron Nelson week to get a good look at the golf course, which he said has allowed him to focus more on rest and recovery in the days leading up to the PGA Championship.
Spieth was asked Wednesday whether he spends much time thinking about completing the career Grand Slam.
“It’s certainly at this point, given having won the other three, it’s an elephant in the room for me,” Spieth said. “It’s a goal of mine. If you just told me I was going to win one tournament the rest of my life I’d say I want to win this one, given where things are at.”
Full-field tee times from the PGA Championship
Spieth has been close on two occasions at the PGA Championship; 2015, when he finished runner-up to Jason Day, and in 2019, when he was T-3 behind Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson.
Spieth wouldn’t definitively say that this is his best chance to date to complete the career Grand Slam, but he understands the significance of that accomplishment.
“Long term it would be really cool to say that you captured the four biggest golf tournaments in the world that are played in different parts of the world and different styles, too,” Spieth said. “So you feel like you kind of accomplished golf when you win a career Grand Slam, I guess.”