Here he goes again. Attempt number 10. For Rory McIlroy – as it has been for Phil Mickelson at the US Open and for Jordan Spieth at the US PGA Championship – and each year brings a sense of anticipation, that drive up Magnolia Lane to Augusta National bringing with it the possibility of history.
It was the creation of the Masters in 1934 that pushed out the old and brought in the new. Until then, the Open and the US Open and the British Amateur and the US Amateur had constituted the old Grand Slam (won only by Bobby Jones). The new tournament created four professional men’s Majors – along with the US Open, the US PGA and the oldest of them all, the Open – and, with it, what would become known as the modern Grand Slam, winning all four in the same year, a feat in that has remained beyond the limits of anyone.
The offshoot, though, became the career Grand Slam. Only five players have ever managed such an accomplishment, two – Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods – on multiple occasions (three times); and three – Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan and Gary Player – once.
Nobody has any divine right to win at Augusta National, as McIlroy – who carried a four-stroke lead into the final round in 2011 – knows only too well. But 13 years ago the thoughts of a career Grand Slam were still aspirational. It was his victory in the 2014 Open at Royal Liverpool (to add to his US Open of 2011 and US PGA of 2012) that left just one missing piece to fill in his efforts to become the sixth player in history to achieve the modern career Grand Slam.
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Each subsequent trip to Augusta National has seen hope and expectation turn to acceptance on the short journey back down Magnolia Lane and out on to Washington Road and time to think before for the next attempt, a year later. The best result McIlroy has managed in the tournament was a runner-up finish behind Scottie Scheffler in 2022, when he entered the final round 10 shots behind the American and ultimately finished three shy after a scintillating 64.
McIlroy has changed things this time around. He’s played more, if not often well. He’s talked swing with Butch Harmon. He’s played the Texas Open as a final fine-tuner. Will it all help the final piece fall into place?
You’re never too concerned about Rory because he bounces back as quickly as anybody, if not quicker
— Paul McGinley
Certainly, former Ryder Cup captain-turned television pundit Paul McGinley is of the belief that McIlroy is more than capable of turning it around once he starts striding, preferably with a pep in his step, on the fairways of Augusta National.
“He’s played a lot of golf. I don’t know if that’s the best thing for Rory. He is not playing particularly well – he is very erratic, he doesn’t have the consistency he did last year. Not being on the [PGA Tour policy] board, everybody says this is a great thing for him, now he can concentrate on his golf. I don’t know if that’s the best thing for him. I thought the last two years, he has played his best golf ever when he was in the eye of the storm, chairman of the PAC. I think that ignited him.
“I always said he’s an inspirational player and I think being at the forefront of the negotiations off the course inspired him. He felt he was very much on one side and leading one side. He liked that leadership role and totally brought that on to the golf course the last two years. And I think he revelled in it, played great.
“I know he didn’t win a Major championship the last two years but his performance and consistency level was at a level that we haven’t seen before, including when he was winning Majors. His statistics were brilliant all round. But he has tailed off this year. And that’s the nature of Rory. I wouldn’t be too concerned because he can turn it on. He went into the Masters last year in good form. Playing unbelievable in practice. The bookies’ favourite. Favourite in his own head. Never before felt better going into Augusta. He went in and had his worst performance of the year where he missed the cut comfortably.
“So this year he’s going under the radar. Everybody is going to be talking about Scheffler; nobody’s really talking about Rory. And you know that might be a platform for him to go and play well on. So you’re never too concerned about Rory because he bounces back as quickly as anybody, if not quicker. And you don’t need a run of form. If you look at Rory’s successes, sometimes it doesn’t go playing well, playing well, playing well, win. Sometimes it can go missing cut, missing cut, then BAM! – win.
“Look at how many times he bounces back. Look at what he did when he missed the cut at Portrush [in the 2019 Open], shooting 79 in the first round. The very next tournament he plays he wins. Often he’s very good on the bounce back, better than anybody in that regard. I wouldn’t be too concerned about his form tailing off. But the reason his form has tailed off is because he has been erratic in his scoring ... I believe he is at his best when he’s bouncing down the fairways, when he can’t wait to get to the ball, he can’t wait to take on a shot. He’s got a goal that he wants to achieve. He’s not in his own way, and he’s totally inspired, and he’s emotionally got a high level of intensity. That’s when I believe he is at his best,” said McGinley.
Will McIlroy, finally, become the sixth member of golf’s most elite club?
Where the final pieces of the jigsaw fell into place for career Grand Slammers
Gene Sarazen
1935 Masters
Aged 32
The first to accomplish the feat, Sarazen won in only the second staging of the Masters at Augusta Nationalm thereby completing the modern career Grand Slam. At the time, the tournament was still known as the Augusta National Invitation and Sarazen entered the final round trailing Craig Wood by three strokes. The defining moment came on the Par 5 15th, where Sarazen holed out from 235 yards with the equivalent of a 4-wood for an albatross and his round of 70 for 282 forced a Monday playoff with Wood. Sarazen won the 36-hole play-off by five strokes, 144 to 149.
Ben Hogan
1953 Open
Aged 40
The conviction that he needed to win a claret jug to cement his greatness led the Texan to finally enter the Open at Carnoustie. It was his one and only time to tee up in golf’s oldest Major but it did indeed bring the desired result. That year, he won the Masters and the US Open but the dates of the US PGA and the Open conflicted, and Hogan – who’d already won two Wanamaker trophies – chose the trip to Scotland, where rounds of 73-71-70-68 for 282, six-under-par gave him a four-stroke winning margin over a quartet of runners-up that featured Antonio Cerda, Dai Rees, Frank Stranahan and Peter Thomson.
Gary Player
1965 US Open
Aged 29
The Black Knight’s only US Open triumph – at Bellerive Country Club in Missouri – gave Player the missing piece in the jigsaw. Player didn’t make it easy on himself, however. Leading by three over Kel Nagle with three holes remaining, the South African double-bogeyed the Par 3 16th while a birdie by Nagle ahead on the 17th had the pair level. Ultimately, the two finished on the same total of two-over-par 282, which forced a Monday playoff. Player’s 71 to Nagle’s 74 saw him triumph.
Jack Nicklaus
1966 Open
Aged 26
The first of the Golden Bear’s career Grand Slams was achieved with his Open win at Muirfield, where he lifted the Claret Jug after a one-stroke winning margin over Doug Sanders and Dave Thomas. That achievement would influence Nicklaus to name his own golf course in Ohio (Muirfield Village, traditional home of the Memorial) after the famed Scottish links. Nicklaus led through 36 holes but struggled to a third-round 75 that allowed Phil Rodgers carry a two-shot lead into the final round. Rodgers fell to a closing 76 and Nicklaus, playing his fifth Open, signed for a 70 for 282.
Tiger Woods
2000 Open
Aged 24
The youngest player to complete the career Grand Slam, this was also the age of Woods’s total and utter dominance. His Open triumph over the Old Course at St Andrews made him the fifth player to achieve the feat (it was also the second leg, following his US Open win at Pebble Beach, of what would become the so-called ‘Tiger Slam’m when he added the US PGA and the 2001 Masters to hold all four Majors at the one time). Woods started his championship at St Andrews with eight straight pars before shifting gears and racing clear. His 72-hole total of 67-66-67-69 for 269 gave him an eight-stroke winning margin over Ernie Els and Thomas Bjorn.
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