Career Grand Slam
A career grand slam in golf is the feat of winning all four of the sport’s professional major championships at least once during a career. The wins can come in any order and across any number of years.
What is a career grand slam?
A career grand slam is one of golf’s rarest honours, reserved for players who have captured each of the four modern majors at some point in their careers. Unlike a single major win, it cannot be claimed in one week or even one season. A player has to prove they can beat the strongest fields on courses that range from the manicured turf of Augusta National to the wind-battered links of a British Open venue.
The word “career” is what separates this achievement from the harder calendar-year version. Order does not matter, and neither does the gap between wins. A golfer who wins their first major at 21 and their fourth at 35 has still completed the career grand slam. That flexibility is why a handful of players have managed it, while the single-season sweep has never been done in the modern professional game.
It matters because the four majors are the events the golf world weighs a career against. Winning all of them signals a completeness that multiple wins at one or two events cannot. It is the reason commentators talk about a player “chasing the slam” for years, and why completing it tends to define how a golfer is remembered.
The four majors that make up the slam
Four tournaments make up the modern men’s slam. In the order they are played each year, they are the Masters Tournament in April, the PGA Championship in May, the U.S. Open in June, and The Open Championship, often called the British Open, in July.
Each has its own character. The Masters is played every year at Augusta National, and its winner receives the famous green jacket. The U.S. Open, run by the USGA, is known for punishing setups and thick rough. The Open Championship, golf’s oldest major dating to 1860, is contested on seaside links courses in Britain and Ireland, where the winner lifts the claret jug.
The Masters is the youngest of the four, first played in 1934. That date matters, because it is the reason a modern career grand slam was not even possible before then. The other three majors are older: the U.S. Open began in 1895, and the PGA Championship in 1916.
Career grand slam vs. calendar-year grand slam
The two terms sound alike but describe different feats. A career grand slam counts wins across a whole career. A calendar-year grand slam, sometimes just called “the Grand Slam,” means winning all four majors inside a single year, and it is far harder.
| Career grand slam | Calendar-year grand slam | |
|---|---|---|
| Requirement | Win each major at least once, ever | Win all four majors in one calendar year |
| Timeframe | Entire career, any order | A single season |
| Men who’ve done it (modern majors) | 6 | 0 |
| Difficulty | Rare | Never done by a man |
No male golfer has ever won all four modern majors in the same calendar year. The closest anyone came was Ben Hogan in 1953, who took three of the four. The only calendar-year sweep in golf history belongs to Bobby Jones, who in 1930 won the four major events of his amateur era: the U.S. Open, The Open, the U.S. Amateur, and the British Amateur. Those were the majors before the Masters existed, according to Encyclopaedia Britannica, which is why his feat sits in a separate category from the modern slam.
The six golfers who have completed it
Only six men have completed the modern career grand slam, a group the PGA of America describes as one of the most exclusive in sport. Each is listed below with the major that finished the set.
| Golfer | Completing major | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Gene Sarazen | Masters | 1935 |
| Ben Hogan | The Open Championship | 1953 |
| Gary Player | U.S. Open | 1965 |
| Jack Nicklaus | The Open Championship | 1966 |
| Tiger Woods | The Open Championship | 2000 |
| Rory McIlroy | Masters | 2025 |
Sarazen was the first to do it under the four modern majors, sealing the set at the 1935 Masters with a double eagle on the 15th hole that remains one of the sport’s most famous shots. Gary Player, who completed his slam at the 1965 U.S. Open, was the first golfer from outside the United States to join the group. Jack Nicklaus went on to win 18 majors, more than anyone in history, per Wikipedia’s major championship records.
Tiger Woods completed his slam at the 2000 Open Championship at St Andrews at 24 years old, the youngest ever to do it, Britannica notes. Nicklaus and Woods are the only two men to have completed the career grand slam three times over, having each won all four majors at least three times. Rory McIlroy became the sixth member and the first European, finishing an 11th attempt at the Masters in 2025 after a wait of nearly 14 years since his first major, the PGA of America reported.
How the Tiger Slam differs
Tiger Woods holds a distinction that sits just outside both definitions. Between the 2000 U.S. Open and the 2001 Masters, he won four majors in a row and held all four titles at the same time. No one else has ever held all four modern majors simultaneously.
Fans named it the “Tiger Slam.” It is not a calendar-year grand slam, because those four wins spanned two seasons rather than one. It counts as part of his career grand slam, but the simultaneous hold is a separate, rarer achievement that has its own name for a reason.
Who could be next?
Two active players sit one major away. Jordan Spieth has won the Masters, U.S. Open, and The Open, and needs only the PGA Championship, where his best result is a runner-up finish. Scottie Scheffler, the world number one, has three legs after adding the PGA Championship and The Open in 2025, leaving only the U.S. Open.
Scheffler got his first chance at the 2026 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills, on his 30th birthday, but fell short as Wyndham Clark won the title, ESPN reported. His next opportunity comes at the 2027 U.S. Open. Phil Mickelson, with six majors, has spent years one leg short of the slam, having finished runner-up at the U.S. Open a record six times without winning it.
The women’s career grand slam
The LPGA recognises its own version, built around five majors rather than four. Seven women are credited with the career grand slam, including Mickey Wright, Juli Inkster, Annika Sorenstam, and Inbee Park. Karrie Webb stands alone as the only player to win five different women’s majors, an accomplishment sometimes called the Super Career Grand Slam.
Related Golf Terms
- Rules official — An on-course authority who interprets and applies the rules.
- Qualifying school — The series of tournaments players use to earn tour status.
- Pro-am — An event pairing professional golfers with amateurs.
- Local rules — Course-specific rules supplementing the standard Rules of Golf.
- Gallery — The crowd of spectators watching a tournament.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many golfers have a career grand slam?
Six men have completed the modern career grand slam: Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, and Rory McIlroy. Seven women are recognised on the LPGA side.
What is the difference between a career grand slam and a grand slam?
A grand slam usually means winning all four majors in one calendar year, which no man has ever done. A career grand slam means winning each of the four at least once across a whole career.
Has anyone won all four golf majors in one year?
No male professional has ever done it. Bobby Jones swept the four majors of 1930, but those were amateur-era events, played before the Masters was founded.
Who was the youngest to complete the career grand slam?
Tiger Woods, who finished the set at the 2000 Open Championship at age 24.
Is the Tiger Slam a grand slam?
It is not a calendar-year grand slam. Woods held all four majors at once across the 2000 and 2001 seasons, but the wins did not fall within a single year.
Sources
- PGA of America. “The Golf Career Grand Slam Explained: History, Winners & Who’s Closest.” Accessed July 2026.
https://www.pga.com/story/the-golf-career-grand-slam-explained-history-winners-and-whos-closest - Wikipedia. “Grand Slam (golf).” Accessed July 2026.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Slam_(golf) - Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Tiger Woods.” Accessed July 2026.
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Tiger-Woods - ESPN. “Scottie Scheffler talks U.S. Open hopes, first Grand Slam bid.” Accessed July 2026.
https://www.espn.com/golf/story/_/id/49086055/scottie-scheffler-talks-us-open-hopes-first-grand-slam-bid - United States Golf Association (USGA). Championship history. Accessed July 2026.
https://www.usga.org
