Jordan Spieth can join Rory McIlroy in the career Grand Slam club if he wins the PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club this week. It is Spieth’s 10th attempt at the tournament, and he arrives outside the world’s top 50 after going without a worldwide top-10 since last June.
The challenge is real, but the opportunity is just as clear. McIlroy completed the Grand Slam at The Masters last April, ending an 11-year major drought, and now Spieth has a chance to match him by adding the Wanamaker Trophy to the Masters and Open Championship titles already on his resume. The last time Spieth won this championship was never; he lost to Jason Day at Whistling Straits in 2015, the last time an international player lifted the trophy.
Chris Wood, who knows Spieth well, said the American is not arriving in hot form, though he would still like to see him pull it off. “He's not trending, but I would love to see Spieth win the Grand Slam,” Wood said. “After that form he showed over those few years, where he was contending in almost every major he played in, he almost deserves the career Grand Slam.”
Wood also pointed to the setting as another hurdle. Aronimink is a stern test, and the PGA Championship has not exactly been friendly to Spieth’s shape of game. “The PGA set-up probably isn't quite suited to his game, but who knows if he gets the putter going. He might have a chance, but it's a long shot!” Wood said. “He takes you on a roller-coaster ride with his golf, but it's entertaining, and I think he gives great insights to people watching.”
That leaves Spieth chasing a tournament that has been largely owned by American players in recent years. Scottie Scheffler returns as defending champion after last year’s five-shot victory at Quail Hollow Club, Bryson DeChambeau has finished runner-up at the last two PGA Championships and Xander Schauffele won the title two years ago. The last 10 PGA Championship winners have all come from the United States, a run Spieth is now trying to extend while also turning his own season around.
The field also carries the memory of McIlroy’s breakthrough and the expectation that one of golf’s biggest names should keep pushing toward the sport’s rarest prize. Spieth has been there before, and that is what makes this week different from a routine start: he is not simply trying to win another major, he is trying to finish the set.
