Players who have won the career Grand Slam in men’s golf
It’s the most exclusive club in men’s golf, owners of the career Grand Slam.
Only five players have accomplished the feat in the professional game: Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods.
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Winning the modern Slam includes capturing the four majors: the Masters Tournament, PGA Championship, U.S. Open and Open Championship.
With a victory Sunday at Augusta National, Rory McIlroy would add his name to the list. The Northern Irishman won the 2011 U.S. Open, 2012 PGA and 2014 Open.
Bobby Jones is also credited for capturing his version of the career Slam, which included the U.S. Amateur, U.S. Open, British Amateur and British Open. In fact, he won them all in 1930 for the both the season and career Grand Slams — or the “impregnable quadrilateral,” as writer O.B. Keeler dubbed it at the time.
The idea of a professional Grand Slam didn’t fully form until Arnold Palmer won the Masters and U.S. Open in 1960. On his way to The Open, then the third major of the season, he coined the phrase with good friend and writer Bob Drum. Palmer didn’t win The Open that year but did capture it twice in his career. He did not, however, ever win the PGA Championship.
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Here’s a look at when the men who did win all four, captured each major for the first time:
Gene Sarazen
1922 U.S. Open
1922 PGA Championship
1932 Open
1935 Masters
Ben Hogan
1946 PGA Champoinship
1948 U.S. Open
1951 Masters
1953 Open
Gary Player
1959 Open
1961 Masters
1962 PGA Championship
1965 U.S. Open
Jack Nicklaus
1962 U.S. Open
1963 Masters
1963 PGA Championship
1966 Open
Tiger Woods
1997 Masters
1999 PGA Championship
2000 U.S. Open
2000 Open
Woods, as part of his historic run at the turn of the century, also won what was dubbed the “Tiger Slam,” when he won the 2000 U.S. Open, 2000 Open, 2000 PGA and 2001 Masters — four in a row, over two seasons.