There are very few golfers who have won one – and even less, all four – of the golf majors. And for this they all richly deserve to be in the pantheon of golf heroes.
All golf majors – US Masters, US Open, British Open, and US PGA – are prestigious “by-invitation-only” tournaments, where the world’s finest golfers get the chance to win one or more of the most prestigious pennants in the golfing world.
In recent years, tournaments such as the Asian Tour International Series have been trying to get into the prestigious list, with new and unique events held mainly in the middle east and funded by Saudi-Arabia. However, currently these events are still not considered as glamorous as the golf majors.
Any golfer who gets even just an invitation to play in one or all majors earns impressive bragging rights to tell the world that he has reached the apex of his golfing career by virtue of the invitation, regardless of which one of the four.
With an array of fresh, gifted talents on the list, there is always one that is likely to win the majors aside from the favorites. In 2021, for example, Hideki Matsuyama and John Rahm notched major titles for the first time, while Phil Mickelson and Collin Morikawa won their sixth and second career victories, respectively.
While it is almost impossible to win a Grand Slam or all four majors titles in one calendar year, the difficulty, if not near impossibility, of such a task makes it the most prestigious golfing event around. The Grand Slam title is the most prestigious label in the world for any professional golfer.
Only one person has ever won this honor – Bobby Jones, who bagged four major golf events in 1930, or 92 years ago. All the rest, including Arnold Palmer and Tiger Woods, have achieved only their career best in terms of winning all four majors at different times of their career, but not in a single year.
What this means is that winning the Grand Slam is difficult, but not impossible. If one man could do it, then there is no reason why others cannot.
Tiger Woods won four consecutive majors – the US Open, Open Championship, and PGA Championship in 2000, and the 2001 Masters. Grand Slam? Not quite. Unlike Jones, he did not win them in one calendar year. But he’s the progenitor of what is now known as the Tiger Slam, a hairline short of the Grand Slam and still a difficult mountain for golfers to climb.
Aside from Woods and Jack Nicklaus, only three other players – Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, and Gary Player – have won four majors at any time of their career. Woods and Nicklaus have each won four majors at least three times, a distinction that sets them apart from other golf immortals.
Golf legend Arnold Palmer was the first player to win the Masters four times. He also ruled the British Open twice and the US Open once. He finished second in the PGA Championship thrice in his career. His failure to snag the PGA Championship, however, kept him from claiming his own career Grand Slam.
A post-1930 Grand Slam continues to be the most elusive title of this generation. If anyone gets it, it will then be the most prestigious golf title to come in this age.
For now, however, it is enough to get an invitation to play in the majors, walk arm in arm with the best of the best, and hope for a win that will surely carve a golfer’s name alongside Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Arnie Palmer, Gene Sarazen, and Gary Player.
