Career Grand Slam Winners in Golf
Only six golfers have won the career grand slam: Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy. Every other legendary golfer you can think of fell short.
It has only been possible to win the career grand slam since 1934, because that is the year The Masters was first played. The Masters is the youngest of the four professional majors of men's golf. The Open Championship (British Open) dates to 1860; the U.S. Open was first played in 1895, the PGA Championship in 1916.
Here is a look at the major championships won by each of the five golfers who have achieved the "career grand slam," listed in the order in which they joined the club:
1. Gene Sarazen
Sarazen won seven major championship titles:- Masters: 1935
- U.S. Open: 1922, 1932
- British Open: 1932
- PGA Championship: 1922, 1923, 1933
And boy did Sarazen do it in style, with one of the most-famous shots in golf history. On the 15th hole of the final round of that 1935 Masters, Sarazen holed out a shot of around 230 yards for a double eagle. That shot propelled Sarazen into a playoff, and he defeated Craig Wood in that playoff to win the tournament and first establish the career grand slam.
2. Ben Hogan
Hogan won nine major championships:- Masters: 1951, 1953
- U.S. Open: 1948, 1950, 1951, 1953
- British Open: 1953
- PGA Championship: 1946, 1948
By 1953, Hogan constantly had pain is his legs as the result of a 1948 car crash. He played a very limited schedule. In 1953, he entered three majors and he won all three, becoming the first man to win three pro majors in the same year. (He did not play the PGA Championship that year, its schedule conflicting with travel from The Open.)
3. Gary Player
Player also won nine major championship titles:- Masters: 1961, 1974, 1978
- U.S. Open: 1965
- British Open: 1959, 1968, 1974
- PGA Championship: 1962, 1972
There was symmetry to Player's entry into the club: It took wins in four majors to achieve the career grand slam, and Player, by the 1965 U.S. Open, had exactly one victory in each of the four majors. He went on to win five more majors, but that 1965 win remained his only U.S. Open victory. So while there were now three career grand slam winners, there were still no golfers who had won each of the majors twice or more. Until ...
4. Jack Nicklaus
Nicklaus is the all-time leader with 18 career wins in the major championships:- Masters: 1963, 1965, 1966, 1972, 1975, 1986
- U.S. Open: 1962, 1967, 1972, 1980
- British Open: 1966, 1970, 1978
- PGA Championship: 1963, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1980
And then Nicklaus just kept winning majors. His victory in the 1971 PGA Championship was his ninth overall in majors, and gave him at least two wins in each of four professional majors. That made him the first golfer to win a double career grand slam.
And when he won the 1978 British Open, Nicklaus had at least three wins in each of the majors: the triple career grand slam.
5. Tiger Woods
Woods is second to Nicklaus on the all-time wins in majors list with 15:- Masters: 1997, 2001, 2002, 2005
- U.S. Open: 2000, 2002, 2008
- British Open: 2000, 2005, 2006
- PGA Championship: 1999, 2000, 2006, 2007
Woods (like Player) achieved his first career grand slam by winning each of the four majors exactly once each, in succession: the Masters in 1997, PGA in 1999, U.S. Open in 2000, and then the 2000 British Open. (Woods also won the PGA Championship in 2000 and then the 2001 Masters: wins in four consecutive majors on the calendar — the Tiger Slam.)
And Woods was only 24 years old when he joined the club, beating Nicklaus' record as the youngest. Woods became a double career grand slam winner at the 2005 British Open, and a triple career grand slam winner at the 2008 U.S. Open.
Rory McIlroy
McIlroy has won five majors so far in his still-thriving career:- Masters: 2025
- U.S. Open: 2011
- British Open: 2014
- PGA Championship: 2012, 2014
And that's it: the only six golfers so far to win the career grand slam.
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