Open champion Scottie Scheffler one leg from golf Grand Slam after easing to victory at Royal Portrush
Scottie Scheffler one step away from golf's career Grand Slam and could complete it at 2026 US Open - on day of his 30th birthday; Dame Laura Davies says world No 1 and four-time major champion will want to avoid "torturous" wait it took Rory McIlroy to win all four majors at least once
Last Updated: 23/07/25 10:24am
Scottie Scheffler completed the third leg of the career Grand Slam with a four-stroke victory at the 2025 Open Championship, putting him in an elite group to have won three of the four men’s majors.
The 29-year-old joins Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tiger Woods as the only players to have won the Masters, PGA Championship and The Open before turning 30, with Scheffler also the first world No 1 to win The Open since Woods defended his title in 2006 at Royal Liverpool.
Two major wins in a season - Scheffler also triumphed at the PGA Championship in May - matches the efforts of Xander Schauffele the previous year, leaving him now just a US Open victory away from moving alongside Rory McIlroy, Woods, Nicklaus, Player, Ben Hogan and Gene Sarazen in golf's Grand Slam club.
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How Scheffler moved closer to Grand Slam
Scheffler claimed his breakthrough major at the 2022 Masters and won again at Augusta National two years later, while he stormed to a five-shot win at the PGA Championship in May before his impressive win in Northern Ireland.
He has top-seven finishes at four of the last five US Opens, including a share of second in 2022 and outright third the year later, with Scheffler now firm favourite to be the next player to complete Grand Slam success.
Scheffler's first opportunity to complete his only missing major will be in June 2026 at Shinnecock Hills in New York, when the final round will be held on the day he turns 30 (June 21).
If he cannot complete the job there, the world No 1 will look towards Pebble Beach Golf Links (2027), Winged Foot Golf Club (2028), Pinehurst (2029) and Merion Golf Club (2030).
Will Scheffler avoid 'torturous' wait for Grand Slam?
McIlroy's pursuit of the career Grand Slam turned into a long-running saga, with the Northern Irishman winning the US Open, Open Championship and PGA Championship four times combined between 2012 and 2014 - but then having to wait a further 11 years to complete the set with victory at the 2025 Masters.
Dame Laura Davies says that having seen what McIlroy went through, Scheffler will be eager to clinch his Grand Slam as soon as possible.
She told Sky Sports: "If what we are seeing is anything to go by, Scottie will take it in his stride and get the Grand Slam done early. Things will change at some point and he won't be that player but I can't see the end of if for a very long time.
"Rory took his time [getting the Grand Slam] and was tortured by it but I don't think Scottie will want that. He will have seen the impact it had on Rory."
What has Scheffler said about Grand Slam?
The Open champion said in his post-victory press conference: "Since Rory accomplished that this year, it's on the front of everybody's mind, just because it is such an historic accomplishment in the game of golf.
"What a tremendous thing for Rory to be able to accomplish. To win all four major championships is pretty dang special. It's for sure a career achievement but I don't focus too much on that stuff.
"When this season ends, I'll assess where my game's at, things I can improve on, and then go from there. I don't think about winning tournaments. I just look at the body of work I have, think about ways to improve."
Who else is close to Grand Slam glory?
Scheffler is now one of three active players requiring one missing major, with former world No 1 Jordan Spieth just a PGA Championship victory away and Phil Mickelson needing a US Open win to complete the Grand Slam.
There's no guarantee there will be instant Grand Slam success, with Spieth making nine unsuccessful attempts to lift the Wanamaker Trophy - after three majors in as many years, while McIlroy, as already mentioned, had an 11-year wait.
Age means Scheffler and Spieth will likely have plenty of chances over the years ahead, while 55-year-old Mickelson looks increasingly likely to fall short of his bid to win the US Open and complete the Grand Slam.
Who else finished one leg short?
Mickelson has six runner-up finishes at the US Open without victory and would be the seventh American to end his career one major short of Grand Slam glory, with Lee Trevino, Arnold Palmer, Tom Watson, Sam Snead, Byron Nelson and Raymond Floyd all narrowly missing out.
Watson and Palmer both failed to win the PGA Championship and Snead was unable to win the US Open, with Byron Nelson and Raymond Floyd both missing out at The Open.
Trevino's six major victories did not include a Green Jacket at Augusta National, while Tommy Armour, Jim Barnes and Walter Hagen all won the other three majors before The Masters was introduced in 1934.
Scheffler making golf's Grand Slam club a magnificent seven seems inevitable but is not a certainty.
