The men\u2019s major championship season is complete, with a good bit of chatter throughout being the quest for the career Grand Slam.<\/p>\n
After 25 years of waiting, Rory McIlroy became just the sixth golfer since the inception of the Masters to complete the career milestone<\/a> when he won at Augusta National in a playoff over Justin Rose.<\/p>\n It was his fifth major title\u2014first in 11 years\u2014and completed a long journey filled with ups and downs and immense attention to complete the quest.<\/p>\n Although the next two major championships also offered opportunities for players to complete the career Grand Slam, the idea was never much in play, as both Jordan Spieth (at the PGA Championship) and Phil Mickelson (U.S. Open) missed the cut at tournaments where they could have joined Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods and McIlroy in that exclusive club.<\/p>\n Scottie Scheffler\u2019s victory at the British Open last week put the possibility in play again when the U.S. Open rolls around next summer at Shinnecock.<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t lost on the assembled media at Royal Portrush as the subject came up in his post-tournament news conference.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s one of those funny things that I think, since Rory accomplished that this year, it\u2019s on the front of everybody’s mind, just because it is such a historic accomplishment in the game of golf,\u201d Scheffler said. \u201cWhat a tremendous thing for Rory to be able to accomplish. To win all four major championships is pretty dang special. It\u2019s for sure a career achievement.<\/p>\n \u201cLike I said, I don\u2019t focus too much on that stuff. When this season ends after the Ryder Cup for me, I\u2019ll get home, and I\u2019ll assess kind of where my game\u2019s at and things I can improve on and then kind of go from there. I don\u2019t think about winning tournaments. I just look at the body of work I have and just think about ways to improve.\u201d<\/p>\n Perhaps he will take a peek at the list of players he joined who have won three legs of the career Grand Slam. He\u2019s one of 12 and sure to get plenty of questions about it\u2014just as McIlroy did\u2014until he manages to win a U.S. Open.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s the list of those who have won three of the four modern major championships based on when they first got to that milestone.<\/p>\n Walter Hagen<\/strong> Jim Barnes<\/strong> Tommy Armour<\/strong> Byron Nelson<\/strong> Sam Snead<\/strong> Arnold Palmer<\/strong> Lee Trevino<\/strong> Tom Watson<\/strong> Raymond Floyd<\/strong> Phil Mickelson<\/strong> Jordan Spieth<\/strong> Scottie Scheffler<\/strong> Joaquin Niemann won LIV Golf\u2019s U.K. event<\/a> Sunday, his fifth victory of the year out of 11 tournaments, giving him $20 million in prize money alone from those five tournaments. Not to mention everything else he won, plus he\u2019s in line to collect an $18 million bonus via LIV\u2019s season-ending individual points system.<\/p>\n So Niemann certainly can handle any fines levied by the DP World Tour for playing in conflicting events. So, too, could Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton and Sergio Garcia. Or anyone else who wants to try and compete on the former European Tour.<\/p>\n Of course, that is a point missed according to a player such as Rahm, who made clear last year he won\u2019t be paying any fines levied by the circuit. Thus, he appealed\u2014so he could play in the events necessary to meet tour-minimum requirements to play in the Ryder Cup.<\/p>\n Last week it was learned that LIV Golf has told its players that it will no longer pay fines associated with the DP World Tour policy<\/a>\u2014which more than two years ago was upheld by a U.K. arbitration panel. It meant that the tour could proceed with its enforcement of its conflicting events policy.<\/p>\n Although suspensions and fines differ by player and the event that they missed, the Telegraph\u2014which first reported the news that was later confirmed by a source to Sports Illustrated\u2014said that these fines have totaled more than\u00a0$20 million dating to 2022.<\/p>\n And there will likely be more this year as all of the players who have DP World Tour memberships have played in conflicting events to compete in the LIV Golf League.<\/p>\n There are several things in play here.\u00a0 First, the DP World Tour conveniently pushed this down the road with the idea of an appeal process that is not expected to play out until after the Ryder Cup in September. That is pretty shrewd, because if that appeal were heard now and the players lost\u2014imminently possible given the precedent\u2014they\u2019d be on the hook for the fines and might be denied access to the Ryder Cup. Good luck with that.<\/p>\n The second and third points are likely related. One, it is reasonable to assume that the Public Investment Fund has grown weary of this fine situation. While it can afford the fines, that doesn\u2019t mean it wants to keep paying them. LIV Golf has attempted to streamline its operations, save money and produce more revenue. This is potentially a big savings.<\/p>\n Related, and potentially more interesting, is whether or not LIV Golf is trying to call the DP World Tour\u2019s bluff.<\/p>\n Rahm said last year how the Spanish Open in his home country wants him to compete. Clearly, fields have gotten a boost from LIV players competing and sponsors want them there. Is the DP World Tour willing to keep its rules in place and keep some name players out? And if it caves, does that cause a problem with the membership at large?<\/p>\n Last year, LIV Golf offered the DP World Tour a deal that included a one-time cash payment and an assurance of working on scheduling issues to better help LIV players be available. The DP World Tour turned down the deal<\/a>, and one of the reasons it cited was its \u201cstrategic alliance\u201d with the PGA Tour\u2014which prohibits players who compete in LIV events from playing in any of its tournaments.<\/p>\n The PGA Tour is underwriting purses on the DP World Tour as part of the deal and also has an ownership stake in European Tour productions. As long as that agreement remains in place, it\u2019s difficult to see the DP World Tour entering into any kind of arrangement with LIV Golf, which has often been rumored and would undoubtedly boost both circuits.<\/p>\n As for the Ryder Cup, the situation won\u2019t have any impact on this year\u2019s match. And you\u2019d like to think this would all be settled by the 2027 Ryder Cup.<\/p>\n But then again, many people thought all of this would be resolved by now and it appears no closer to resolution.<\/p>\n
Majors: <\/strong>11
Breakdown: Two U.S. Opens, five PGAs, 4 Opens
Missing: The Masters
Hagen had three of the majors by 1922 when he captured the Open at Royal St. George\u2019s but\u2014of course\u2014the Masters had yet to even be played until 1934. He would compete in it just six times when he was in his 40s. The first Masters was played five years after he won his last major. Hagen did win five Western Opens, which at the time was considered on the level of a major, the last coming in 1932, two years before the first Masters. Perhaps he deserves an asterisk.<\/p>\n
Majors: 4
Breakdown: 2 PGAs (he won the first in 1916), 1 U.S. Open, 1 Open
Missing: The Masters
Like Hagen, Barnes came along too late to be a factor at the Masters. He was 48 when it was first played and never competed in the tournament. He is the answer to a trivia question: the last player to win an Open at Prestwick, 100 years ago in 1925. Also like Hagen, he won the era\u2019s other major tournament, the Western Open, three times.<\/p>\n
Majors: 3
Breakdown: 1 U.S. Open, 1 Open, 1 PGA
Missing: The Masters
Like Hagen and Barnes, the Masters was more or less too late for Armour. He played in it seven times, with his best finish a tie for eighth in 1937, six years after he won the Open at Carnoustie to get three of the four. Armour is credited with 25 PGA Tour wins and also won the Western Open in 1929.<\/p>\n
Majors: 5
Breakdown: 2 Masters, 1 U.S. Open, 2 PGAs
Missing: The Open
Nelson, who won 52 times on the PGA Tour (sixth all-time) played the Open just twice, in 1937, when he finished fifth and not again until 1955, when he was in his 40s and effectively retired from tournament golf. He won his last major at the 1945 PGA Championship.<\/p>\n
Majors: 7
Breakdown: 3 Masters, 1 Open, 3 PGAs
Missing: U.S. Open
Snead, who shares the all-time PGA Tour victory record of 82 with Tiger Woods, infamously never won the U.S. Open, posting 12 top-10 finishes, including four seconds. The 1939 U.S. Open, where he finished fifth, was the one he lamented. Thinking he needed a birdie on the final hole at Philadelphia Country Club to win\u2014he needed a par\u2014Snead ended up making an 8. At the time, he had not won any of his majors.<\/p>\n
Majors: 7
Breakdown: 4 Masters, 1 U.S. Open, 2 Opens
Missing: PGA Championship
Palmer, who many believe had a role in inventing the modern Grand Slam, had three of the four legs after capturing the 1961 Open at Royal Birkdale. A year earlier, he won the Masters and U.S. Open and finished second at St Andrews and tied for seventh at the PGA, where he finished second three times, his last in 1970.<\/p>\n
Majors: 6
Breakdown: 2 U.S. Opens, 2 Opens, 2 PGAs
Missing: The Masters
Trevino, who won 29 times on the PGA Tour and is the only player to beat Jack Nicklaus in a major championship playoff (1971 U.S. Open), infamously struggled at Augusta National, at times declining to accept in invitation. He never really contended, and his best finish was a tie for 10th\u00a0in 1985.<\/p>\n
Majors: 8
Breakdown: 2 Masters, 1 U.S. Open, 5 Opens
Missing: PGA Championship
Watson, who won 39 times on the PGA Tour and narrowly missed winning the Open at age 59, had 10 top-10 finishes at the PGA, his best chance coming in 1978 when he shot a final-round 78 and lost in a playoff to John Mahaffey.<\/p>\n
Majors: 4
Breakdown: 1 Masters, 1 U.S. Open, 2 PGAs
Missing: The Open
Floyd came onto the career Slam chase late, winning the 1986 U.S. Open at Shinnecock at age 43. He had four top 10s at the Open and finished runner-up to Jack Nicklaus in 1978.<\/p>\n
Majors: 6
Breakdown: 3 Masters, 1 Open, 2 PGAs
Missing: U.S. Open
Mickelson, who won 45 times on the PGA Tour, became the oldest player to win a major championship when he captured the 2021 PGA. And he surprised the world by winning the 2013 Open at Muirfield, rallying with a final-round 66 to put him within one U.S. Open of the career Slam. But by then, his best chances had passed. Mickelson infamously finished runner-up a record six times at the U.S. Open<\/a>, including a month before his triumph in Scotland.<\/p>\n
Majors: 3
Breakdown: 1 Masters, 1 U.S. Open, 1 Open
Missing: PGA Championship
Spieth quickly won the Masters and U.S. Open in 2015, missed a playoff by a shot at the Open and then finished second at the PGA in an amazing year. He then won the Open at Royal Birkdale in 2017 with a wild back nine. But he has posted just two of his 13 PGA Tour victories since that triumph and he\u2019s never been a factor down the stretch at the PGA in nine attempts since winning the Claret Jug.<\/p>\n
Majors: 4
Breakdown: 2 Masters, 1 PGA, 1 Open
Missing: U.S. Open
Scheffler has played in just 23 major championships as a pro but has a whopping 15 top-10 finishes and four wins. He\u2019s missed just two cuts, the last coming at the 2022 PGA. He\u2019s had chances at the U.S. Open, including a tie for second in 2022 behind Matt Fitzpatrick and a third in 2023 behind Wyndham Clark among four top-10 finishes.<\/p>\n