Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Jon Rahm can move one major away from completing the Grand Slam with victory in The 151st Open at Royal Liverpool; watch the final men's major of the year from Thursday July 20 live on Sky Sports Golf
Wednesday 12 July 2023 16:31, UK
There will be no new entry into golf’s career Grand Slam club in 2023 although three players can move three-quarters of their way towards joining that illustrious group with victory this week.
Tiger Woods is the most recent player to complete the Grand Slam, winning The Open at St Andrews in 2000 as part of the "Tiger Slam", with Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Ben Hogan and Gene Sarazen also winning all four majors in their careers.
Three active players currently require just one missing major, with Rory McIlroy's latest attempt to complete the Grand Slam at The Masters resulting in a missed cut and continuing to leave him without a major victory since 2014.
Jordan Spieth fell short in his bid at the PGA Championship, ending the week in tied 29th, while Phil Mickelson still requires the US Open - an event he has finished runner-up at six times - after failing to contend last month at Los Angeles Country Club.
All three players will have another opportunity to win their missing major in 2024, by which point there could be another player who is just one victory away from joining the Grand Slam club.
World No 2 Jon Rahm can become the first player since Woods in 2005 to win The Masters and The Open in the same calendar year, having finished tied-third at Royal St George's a month after his maiden major title at the US Open in 2021.
"Not many people have been able to do it, so to be able to finish it out and do a Grand Slam would be absolutely amazing," Rahm said after his four-shot win at The Masters. "It's a long road ahead to be able to accomplish that."
Dustin Johnson has five top 10s in his lengthy Open Championship career, including both the last two years, with a win for either the American or Rahm meaning they could then complete the Grand Slam in next year's PGA Championship at Valhalla.
Reigning PGA champion Brooks Koepka is the other player already halfway towards the Grand Slam, with the five-time major winner looking to bounce back on last year's missed cut at St Andrews and contend for a second major of the season.
"The whole goal is to win the Grand Slam, right," Koepka said at The Masters. "I feel like all the greats have won here [Augusta] and they have all won The Opens as well. I guess it's one more box for me to tick to truly feel like I've done what I should have accomplished in this game."
A Koepka win at Royal Liverpool would move him level with Mickelson on six majors and see him join McIlroy in requiring just The Masters to complete the Grand Slam, having squandered a final-round lead to Rahm at Augusta National earlier in the year.
Woods said at The Masters earlier this year it was "just a matter of time" before McIlroy would complete the Grand Slam, although the Northern Irishman's initial focus is to end his nine-year wait for a fifth major title.
McIlroy failed to convert a share of the final-round lead at The Open last summer, settling for third place, while the former world No 1 then following a tied-seventh finish at the PGA Championship in May by finishing runner-up to Wyndham Clark at the US Open.
The 34-year-old went into the final round at Los Angeles Country Club a shot off the lead and made an opening-hole birdie, only to make 16 pars and a bogey over the remainder of his round to card a level-par 70 and settle for second spot.
"I'm getting closer," McIlroy said after his final round at the US Open. "The more I keep putting myself in these positions, sooner or later it's going to happen for me. The last real two chances I've had at majors I feel like have been pretty similar performances, like St Andrews last year and then here [Los Angeles].
"When I do finally win this next major, it's going to be really, really sweet. I would go through 100 Sundays like this to get my hands on another major championship."
McIlroy will now hope a return to a familiar hunting ground will see him lift the Claret Jug for a second time, with The Open back in Hoylake for the first time since when Royal Liverpool last hosted the event in 2014.
The 151st Open takes place from July 20-23, with exclusive coverage throughout tournament week live on Sky Sports. Live coverage of the opening round begins on Thursday July 20 from 6.30am on Sky Sports Golf.
