Editorial – What it Takes to Win a Grand Slam

There are only two people in the history of golf to accomplish a remarkable feat, and that is winning the Grand Slam on both the PGA and the Champions (formerly Senior) Tours. Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus both accomplished the remarkable feat. The majors on the regular men’s circuit are well known: Masters, U.S. Open, The Open (formerly called the British Open) and the PGA Championship. On the PGA Tour Champions, there are now five, but when Player and Nicklaus played, there were four, and winning all four constituted a Grand Slam. They are the U.S. Senior Open, PGA Senior Championship, the Tradition and the Senior Players’ Championship. Today the Senior Open (formerly the British Senior Open) has been added to the rotation, making five senior men’s majors altogether. But Player’s and Nicklaus’ feat are still considered a completion of the senior Grand Slam. USGTF president Brandon Lee recently had the pleasure of teeing it up with Player for a round. What does it take to win the Grand Slam? Many great legends of the game came short such as Sam Snead, Arnold Palmer, Tom Watson and Phil Mickelson. So it’s not just being a great player. There may be some luck involved, but as Player once famously said, “The more I practice the luckier I get.” There’s just something special about being a career Grand Slam champion, and it can certainly be said Nicklaus and Player stand alone in that regard.