Golfers who have completed the Grand Slam

For all golfers, winning a major represents the fulfilment of a lifelong ambition, while winning more than one is something few even dream about.

Capturing the Grand Slam, however, is the ultimate achievement in professional golf. Below, we look at the players who have won the Grand Slam.

What is the Grand Slam in golf?

The Grand Slam in golf is the four majors: the US Masters, the PGA Championship, the US Open and The Open. A golfer who wins all four over the course of their career is said to have completed the Grand Slam.

The two major tournaments in golf were The Open Championship and the Amateur Championship. In later years, the US Open and US Amateur were recognised as major, but following the widespread professionalisation of golf, the amateur championships were no longer included.

It wasn't until around the 1960s that the big four tournaments were officially recognised as majors.

Which golfers have completed the Grand Slam?

All in all, six golfers have won the modern Grand Slam of the Masters, US Open, PGA Championship and The Open: Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Ben Hogan, Gary Player and Gene Sarazen.

Sarazen won his first two majors in 1922 with the US Open and the PGA Championship, capturing the Grand Slam in 1935 with the Masters - incidentally, the second Masters Tournament ever played.

Hogan was next having taken the PGA Championship in 1946, capturing The Open in 1953 in his first and only appearance at the championship.

Player won his first major at the 1959 Open, completing the Grand Slam with his US Open win in 1965.

Nicklaus became the fourth golfer in 1966, winning The Open just four years after his first major, claiming his sixth overall.

In the modern era, Woods was the only player to have completed the Grand Slam - doing so more impressively by winning four consecutive majors (albeit spread over two years), an achievement dubbed the 'Tiger Slam'.

But in 2025, Rory McIlroy won the Masters, ending an 11-year wait to win a major and the Grand Slam.

Players one major away from a Grand Slam

There are plenty of legendary golfers who never quite managed to complete the Grand Slam, perhaps most famously Lee Trevino, who never won the Masters, opting not to play the event in numerous years, while Arnold Palmer never captured the PGA Championship.

More recently, Phil Mickelson caputred the Masters, PGA and Open, but came up agonisingly short at the US Open on more than one occasion.

Jordan Spieth raced to his first three majors and is a PGA away from the Grand Slam.

Liam Williams

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