section_path: Men's golf
section_name: Men's golf
paragraph_text: Men's golf
  
  The Grand Slam in men's golf is an unofficial term for winning all four major championships in the same year.
  
  In the modern era, the Grand Slam requires victories in four tournaments in a single calendar year (listed in current playing order):
  
  Prior to the creation of the Masters Tournament, the national amateur championships of the U.S. and the UK were considered major championships. During that earlier era, the Grand Slam comprised consecutive victories at the U.S. Amateur, The Amateur Championship (British Amateur) along with the U.S. Open and the Open Championship.
  
  The term Grand Slam was first applied to Bobby Jones ' achievement of winning the four major golf events of 1930 open to amateurs: The Open Championship (containing pros and amateurs), the U.S. Open (containing pros and amateurs), the U.S. Amateur (containing amateurs only), and the British Amateur (containing amateurs only). When Jones won all four, the sports world searched for ways to capture the magnitude of his accomplishment. Up to that time, there was no term for such a feat because no one had thought it possible. The Atlanta Journal ' s O. B. Keeler dubbed it the "Grand Slam," borrowing a bridge term. George Trevor of the New York Sun wrote that Jones had "stormed the impregnable quadrilateral of golf." Keeler would later write the words that would forever be linked to one of the greatest individual accomplishments in the history of sports:
  
  This victory, the fourth major title in the same season and in the space of four months, had now and for all time entrenched Bobby Jones safely within the 'Impregnable Quadrilateral of Golf,' that granite fortress that he alone could take by escalade, and that others may attack in vain, forever.
  
  During this era, a professional Grand Slam was also talked about, comprising the two open major championships, along with the PGA Championship and the three next biggest tournaments: the Canadian Open, Western Open and Metropolitan Open. Completing this professional grand slam during their career was achieved by Tommy Armour and Walter Hagen, who both completed it in 1931.
  
  The modern definition of four majors open to pros and amateurs could not be applied until at least 1934, when the Masters was founded, and still carried little weight in 1953 when Ben Hogan won the Masters, U.S. Open, and Open Championship. That year, it was impossible to win all four as the PGA Championship preceded and overlapped with the Open Championship; the PGA's 36-hole match play semifinals and finals near Detroit were the same days as the mandatory 36-hole qualifier at Carnoustie in Scotland for the Open Championship; the only way to compete in both events was to lose an early match at the PGA. Hogan is the only player to have won the Masters, U.S. Open, and Open Championship in the same calendar year.
  
  In 1960, Arnold Palmer won the Masters in April and U.S. Open in June. According to his autobiography, A Golfer's Life, he and his friend Bob Drum (of the Pittsburgh Press), while on the trans-Atlantic flight to The Open Championship at St Andrews, came up with the idea that adding it and the PGA Championship titles that July would constitute a modern Grand Slam. Drum spread the notion among the gathered media and it caught on. However, a newspaper article on 12 April 1960 titled "Biggest Grand Slam May Be Palmer Goal" stated "Arnold Palmer, the Midas of the fairways, has charted a course which could carry him to the biggest grand slam in golf since Bobby Jones' feat in 1930. The Pennsylvania strongman with golfdom's golden touch passed his first landmark when he won the 24th Masters tournament yesterday with a pulsating stretch drive. Three more big ones remain- the U.S. Open in Denver June 16–18, the 100th anniversary British Open at historic St. Andrews July 4–9 and the PGA championship in Akron, Ohio, July 28–31. If the 29-year-old Palmer can add those three jewels to his Masters crown the performance will rank on a par with Jones' grand slam year." Two years earlier, the PGA had changed to stroke play, and it started to be held two weeks after the Open Championship in 1960. Scheduling problems continued through the 1960s as the last two majors were held in successive weeks in July on five occasions. The PGA was played in August in 1965 but returned to July for the next three. With the formation of the Tournament Players Division in late 1968, now the PGA Tour, the PGA Championship moved to August in 1969 and, except for the 1971 edition, held in late February to avoid the summer heat of Florida, continued to be held during that month until 2018. From 2019 it is held in May.
  
  Tiger Woods came closest to winning a modern Grand Slam by holding all four major titles at the same time. He won all four major championships consecutively – the U.S. Open, Open Championship, and PGA Championship in 2000, and the 2001 Masters – but not in the same calendar year. This has been called the Tiger Slam. In fact, even before Woods accomplished this, there was much debate over the definition of "Grand Slam." Fred Couples said, "I don't know how I can put it more simply... if he wins all four, it's a Slam."
  
  Only six golfers have won all four of golf's modern majors at any time during their careers, an achievement which is often referred to as a Career Grand Slam: Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, and Rory McIlroy. Woods and Nicklaus have won each of the four majors at least three times.
  
  The term also refers to a former tour tournament, the PGA Grand Slam of Golf, an annual off-season tournament, that was cancelled after the 2014 tournament, contested by the winners of the four major championships.
  
  The Grand Slam in men's golf is an unofficial term for winning all four major championships in the same year.
  
  In the modern era, the Grand Slam requires victories in four tournaments in a single calendar year (listed in current playing order):
  
  Prior to the creation of the Masters Tournament, the national amateur championships of the U.S. and the UK were considered major championships. During that earlier era, the Grand Slam comprised consecutive victories at the U.S. Amateur, The Amateur Championship (British Amateur) along with the U.S. Open and the Open Championship.
  
  The term Grand Slam was first applied to Bobby Jones ' achievement of winning the four major golf events of 1930 open to amateurs: The Open Championship (containing pros and amateurs), the U.S. Open (containing pros and amateurs), the U.S. Amateur (containing amateurs only), and the British Amateur (containing amateurs only). When Jones won all four, the sports world searched for ways to capture the magnitude of his accomplishment. Up to that time, there was no term for such a feat because no one had thought it possible. The Atlanta Journal ' s O. B. Keeler dubbed it the "Grand Slam," borrowing a bridge term. George Trevor of the New York Sun wrote that Jones had "stormed the impregnable quadrilateral of golf." Keeler would later write the words that would forever be linked to one of the greatest individual accomplishments in the history of sports:
  
  This victory, the fourth major title in the same season and in the space of four months, had now and for all time entrenched Bobby Jones safely within the 'Impregnable Quadrilateral of Golf,' that granite fortress that he alone could take by escalade, and that others may attack in vain, forever.
  
  During this era, a professional Grand Slam was also talked about, comprising the two open major championships, along with the PGA Championship and the three next biggest tournaments: the Canadian Open, Western Open and Metropolitan Open. Completing this professional grand slam during their career was achieved by Tommy Armour and Walter Hagen, who both completed it in 1931.
  
  The modern definition of four majors open to pros and amateurs could not be applied until at least 1934, when the Masters was founded, and still carried little weight in 1953 when Ben Hogan won the Masters, U.S. Open, and Open Championship. That year, it was impossible to win all four as the PGA Championship preceded and overlapped with the Open Championship; the PGA's 36-hole match play semifinals and finals near Detroit were the same days as the mandatory 36-hole qualifier at Carnoustie in Scotland for the Open Championship; the only way to compete in both events was to lose an early match at the PGA. Hogan is the only player to have won the Masters, U.S. Open, and Open Championship in the same calendar year.
  
  In 1960, Arnold Palmer won the Masters in April and U.S. Open in June. According to his autobiography, A Golfer's Life, he and his friend Bob Drum (of the Pittsburgh Press), while on the trans-Atlantic flight to The Open Championship at St Andrews, came up with the idea that adding it and the PGA Championship titles that July would constitute a modern Grand Slam. Drum spread the notion among the gathered media and it caught on. However, a newspaper article on 12 April 1960 titled "Biggest Grand Slam May Be Palmer Goal" stated "Arnold Palmer, the Midas of the fairways, has charted a course which could carry him to the biggest grand slam in golf since Bobby Jones' feat in 1930. The Pennsylvania strongman with golfdom's golden touch passed his first landmark when he won the 24th Masters tournament yesterday with a pulsating stretch drive. Three more big ones remain- the U.S. Open in Denver June 16–18, the 100th anniversary British Open at historic St. Andrews July 4–9 and the PGA championship in Akron, Ohio, July 28–31. If the 29-year-old Palmer can add those three jewels to his Masters crown the performance will rank on a par with Jones' grand slam year." Two years earlier, the PGA had changed to stroke play, and it started to be held two weeks after the Open Championship in 1960. Scheduling problems continued through the 1960s as the last two majors were held in successive weeks in July on five occasions. The PGA was played in August in 1965 but returned to July for the next three. With the formation of the Tournament Players Division in late 1968, now the PGA Tour, the PGA Championship moved to August in 1969 and, except for the 1971 edition, held in late February to avoid the summer heat of Florida, continued to be held during that month until 2018. From 2019 it is held in May.
  
  Tiger Woods came closest to winning a modern Grand Slam by holding all four major titles at the same time. He won all four major championships consecutively – the U.S. Open, Open Championship, and PGA Championship in 2000, and the 2001 Masters – but not in the same calendar year. This has been called the Tiger Slam. In fact, even before Woods accomplished this, there was much debate over the definition of "Grand Slam." Fred Couples said, "I don't know how I can put it more simply... if he wins all four, it's a Slam."
  
  Only six golfers have won all four of golf's modern majors at any time during their careers, an achievement which is often referred to as a Career Grand Slam: Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, and Rory McIlroy. Woods and Nicklaus have won each of the four majors at least three times.
  
  The term also refers to a former tour tournament, the PGA Grand Slam of Golf, an annual off-season tournament, that was cancelled after the 2014 tournament, contested by the winners of the four major championships.