PGA Championship 2026: Can Jordan Spieth join Rory McIlroy in golf’s Grand Slam club and who else could be next? | golf news

Jordan Spieth believes his game is primed to challenge for a PGA Championship win, but insists his pressure to complete a career Grand Slam is different from that faced by Rory McIlroy.

McIlroy became the sixth man to win four major titles with a dramatic playoff victory at The Masters last April, his 17th appearance at Augusta National and 11 years after completing the third leg of a Grand Slam to win the green jacket.

Spieth won The Masters and US Open in 2015 before securing The Open in 2017, this year’s PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club – live from Thursday Sky Sports Golf – His 10th chance to claim the elusive major needed to join golf’s Grand Slam club.

“My situation was definitely different than his (McIlroy’s) at Augusta, so I think it was unique to him,” Spieth insisted. “You probably haven’t seen that reaction with other guys who’ve done it.

“Rory’s obviously had a very unique final round and his history of leading there (2011, when he blew a four-shot lead on the day of the final) and things like that, so I don’t think it’s going to be the same.

“I’ve been competing or had a good chance to compete at every major for several years and then it’s been intermittent, and I think I’m close to being able to go back to doing it again. So I want to give myself a chance.”

Spieth finished runner-up to Jason Day at the PGA Championship in 2015, a year in which he finished no worse than fourth in all four majors, but his third in the 2019 tournament is his only top-10 finish at the event.

The former world No 1 has fallen outside the world’s top 50 after failing to register a global top-10 so far in 2026, arriving in Pennsylvania after finishing 52nd at last week’s Tryst Championship, although he insists he can challenge to claim a first PGA Tour win since 2026.

“If I could win one more tournament in my life, it would definitely be because of that (Grand Slam),” Spieth explained. “But the easiest way to do it is to not try in a weird way.

“Just go out and get ready for the first hole, have a good game plan and attack it the way it needs to be attacked. My game is getting better. It’s great to have a chance to win.”

If Spieth fails to find the Grand Slam, is Scheffler next?

If Spieth falls short in his bid to claim the elusive major, world number one Scotty Scheffler could become the seventh golfer at the game’s most exclusive club to win the US Open this summer.

Scheffler needs only to win at Shinnecock Hills – where the final round is held on his 30th birthday – to win four majors and outright golf excellence, having already surpassed McIlroy to dominate the top of the men’s game in recent seasons.

He claimed a first major win at The Masters in 2022 and reclaimed his title two years later, while dominant wins at the PGA Championship and The Open last season set him up for the next grand slam.

“Since Rory has done it (the Grand Slam), it’s been on everyone’s mind,” Scheffler said after winning The Open at Royal Portash last July. “It’s definitely a career achievement but I don’t focus too much on those things.”

There is no guarantee of immediate Grand Slam success for Scheffler, given Spieth and McIlroy’s past struggles with Lee Trevino, Arnold Palmer, Tom Watson, Sam Snead, Byron Nelson and Raymond Floyd.

Phil Mickelson is another who just needs the US Open – an event he’s been runner-up to six times, despite missing the cut four years running and not listed in the field for this year’s competition.

Can Rahm get closer to the Grand Slam?

Rahm claimed a first major title at the 2021 US Open and won The Masters two years later, meaning a win in Pennsylvania this week would give him the chance to complete the Grand Slam at The Open later this summer.

The former world No. 1 claimed a share of eighth last year, his third top-eight finish at the PGA Championship, with Rahm briefly sharing the lead during the final round until he played the final three holes in five over.

“I want to do it (the Grand Slam) – obviously it’s not easy,” Rahm said before last year’s PGA Championship. “I think obviously it would be more in my mind if I could win a third different one, like Jordan (Spieth) was able to do.

“At this point, if I ever thought about it, I’d focus more on major numbers than any. Let’s say I never achieve that, I’d rather have a situation like Sir Nick Faldo’s – where he has six between two – maybe three instead of three apart, if that makes sense.

“If you get all four of them and if you win once, I think it’s so important that you can take it over six. But right now, I’d rather think about number three and if it’s The Open or the PGA (Championship), I’ll focus on a potential Grand Slam.”

Johnson is another with a chance to advance to three quarterback Grand Slams this week after winning the 2016 US Open and 2020 Masters, but has only two top-20 finishes since joining the LIV Golf League in the summer of 2022.

The American has missed the cut in three of his last five PGA Championships, including last year, despite back-to-back runner-up finishes in 2019 and 2020.

Who else could be next to join golf’s grand slam club?

Colin Morikawa He has finished no worse than a tie-25th in his last five US Open appearances and has been in the top 20 at The Masters the last six years, including a third in 2014, having already won the PGA Championship (2020) and The Open (2021).

“If it (the Grand Slam) doesn’t come (to your mind), then you don’t really care,” Morikawa said at The Masters in 2025.

Xander Schauffele Having won the same two majors as Morikawa in 2024, winning both the PGA Championship and The Open, the American already has 13 other career top-10s across the Masters and The Open.

“Before I had a major, it (a Grand Slam) was something I always wanted,” Schaffel said after winning the Claret Jug. “I’m one step closer and still have a long way to go. But if you don’t see yourself doing it, you’re never going to do it.”

Brooks Koepka His back-to-back US Open titles in 2017 and 2018 were the most major wins among men in the past 20 years until he surpassed McIlroy’s back-to-back Masters wins.

Koepka has failed to register a major top-10 since winning the Wanamaker Trophy for the third time at Oak Hill, although – like Johnson and Rahm – could move within a Grand Slam title if he wins The Open at Royal Birkdale this July.

Bryson DeChambeau He is a two-time US Open champion and has finished back-to-back runner-up in the last two editions of the PGA Championship. If he can do better this week, he’ll parachute himself into the conversation as a potential future Grand Slam contender.

There was a gap of 25 years between McIlroy joining Tiger Woods in the Grand Slam club. Many players in this week’s PGA Championship field are looking to make sure the wait for the seventh member doesn’t take too long.

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