Jordan Spieth gunning for Grand Slam glory at PGA Championship
The Texan is seeking to become just the sixth player to win all four Major Championships
Jordan Spieth has the opportunity to join one of the most exclusive clubs in the world of golf this week.
If he were to win the PGA Championship, the American will have collected all four Major Championships, joining Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as the only players to have completed the Grand Slam.
At only 30 years old, Spieth has already enjoyed a Hall of Fame Career, winning 13 times on the PGA Tour and being part of a select group of golfers to have won three of the four Major Championships before the age of 24.
The first of those came at Augusta National in 2015 at the age of 21 when he shot a then-record-tying score of 18-under-par 270, before following it up with victory at the U.S. Open just two months later, becoming the youngest player to win the tournament since 1923.
Two years later, the Texan showed true grit at The Open Championship as he battled back from a bad start to his final round to pip Matt Kuchar to the Claret Jug after an epic battle over the Southport links.
Now, just the PGA Championship stands in his way as he looks to become the first player since Woods in 2000 to wrap up all four Majors.
"It's the one that's eluded me so far, and it would be pretty incredible to work my way into contention and have a chance this week and see if I can try to make that history," said Spieth ahead of the 106th edition of the tournament, which takes place at Valhalla Golf Club for the fourth time.
"I've had a number of chances since having the other three and come close a couple times, but never quite close enough at the end to really have a chance, so that would obviously be the goal this week."
Spieth has had seven attempts at joining the elite club since becoming Champion Golfer of the Year in 2017.
From those seven starts in the Major that is only open to professional golfers, he has finished inside the top ten once – a tied third finish in 2019 at Bethpage.
In that time, he has also had a couple of close shaves at the game’s other Major Championships, including three top fives at the Masters Tournament and a runner-up finish at the Open Championship.
While Spieth is keen to add his name to the Grand Slam winners, right now he’s just hoping to add any Major title to his trophy cabinet having not won one of golf’s grandest events in seven years.
"I would take any and all and as many majors as possible regardless of where they come. It's just kind of a cool thing if you're able to hold all four," said Spieth.
"There's just not many people in the game that have done that, and you have an opportunity to do things that are very unique in the game of golf, that's what kind of stands out, stands the test of time afterwards."
The 13-time PGA Tour winner has always had a sense of unpredictably about him over recent years – when he runs hot, he is one of the game’s greatest players, but when he’s not at the top of his game, things can turn sour pretty quickly.
That was evident at last month’s Masters Tournament, where Spieth missed the cut after finishing nine over par after two rounds at a venue where he has finished inside the top five on six occasions.
His form hasn’t really improved since then, tumbling down to 24th in the Official World Golf Ranking after missing the cut at CJ Cup and finishing outside the top 25 at the RBC Heritage and Wells Fargo Championship – both of which didn’t have a 36-hole cut.
While the leaderboards haven’t looked kindly on Spieth in recent weeks, he still encouraged by his game ahead of the year’s second Major Championship of the season in Kentucky.
"It's kind of been that, this weird little bit of lack of patience, but my game feels actually really good," said Spieth, who hasn’t won on the PGA Tour since 2022.
"And I think any week, it wouldn't surprise me if I found my way into contention any week right now."