Jordan Spieth will pursue his career grand slam this week at the 2024 PGA Championship. It’ll be his seventh attempt at history. He would be just the sixth golfer to ever accomplish the rarity, joining a very small and special group of golfers. Only Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Gary Player, Gene Sarazen, and Ben Hogan have done it. If Spieth pulls it off, he will cement his legacy and secure a place in golf history far beyond what his age or win totals warrant.
Will he be able to get the job done?
Spieth’s Shot At History Overshadowed By McIlroy
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Spieth hasn’t been in good form of late. Perhaps if he were, his shot at history would be a storyline more people would be talking about. Perhaps. Or maybe not? This week has far more pre-tournament fodder capturing the media’s attention than golf tournaments, even major championships, usually have. Even Tiger Woods, the most polarizing and popular golfer the world has ever known, who is playing this week, isn’t the top story. So, who is?
That distinction belongs to Rory McIlroy, winner of two straight tournaments, the second being his fourth win at the Wells Fargo Championship. McIlroy won the last PGA Championship contested at Valhalla Golf Club, this year’s host venue. And when he did, he was coming off a win the week before as well. It all adds up to renewed enthusiasm and hype around Rory securing major number five. Is that enough to get you excited about his major prospects?
McIlroy has also been in the news plenty this week off the course. He was denied a return to the PGA Tour Policy Board despite Webb Simpson offering up his spot. Rumors of Woods and Spieth not approving swirled. Then McIlroy joined a new transaction subcommittee the next day, which Woods is on also. And if that doesn’t do it for you, he filed for divorce from his wife of seven years on the Monday before the PGA Championship is set to tee off.
Spieth Not Viewed As A Real Threat To Win
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Though Woods isn’t the top story, his health and chances of winning are still garnering far more consideration than Spieth’s. Attention and coverage are understandable, sure, it’s Tiger Woods. But actual consideration? Spieth could make history with a win. And though the ramifications of a win would be more Earth-shattering for Tiger than Jordan, that statement only applies to Tiger. For no one else in the field could you make that claim.
Yet no one seems to care about Spieth’s chances of winning this week. Why is that the case?
To illustrate just how irrelevant Spieth the golfer has become, fifteen non-major winners have better odds to win this week than him. Spieth’s health also hasn’t been good as he deals with a wrist injury. Despite playing through it, his game looks affected. Still, you’d think his chances of winning would be considered better.
One more factor working against Spieth is history. Though he’s only thirty, it’s been seven years since he won The Open Championship, the third leg toward his career Grand Slam. Of the other five golfers in history to accomplish the feat, they all pulled it off within three years of completing the third leg.
Reason To Believe Spieth Can Win
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Claiming to have hit the “reset” button ahead of the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, Spieth promptly missed the cut. Spieth’s last win was two seasons ago. Despite saying all of the right things about working hard and being close, the latter claim hasn’t yielded much in the way of optimism. Yet none of this is to say that Jordan Spieth can’t make history this week.
In fact, it may help him do exactly that. After all, golf’s most beloved narrator, Jim Nantz, has said as much:
“These things, like winning a career Grand Slam, they happen kind of when there’s less focus and less of a spotlight, said CBS play-by-play broadcaster Jim Nantz, who has covered every PGA Championship since 1991. “And I think Jordan goes into this week without a whole lot of discussion about that possibility coming up at Valhalla. So, maybe it is favorable in that sense mentally.”
As for Spieth, he has his reasons to believe he can win ‘the slam’ this week:
“I feel like I’m driving the ball better maybe than I’ve ever driven the golf ball. I feel like I’m playing better than my results and that’s really frustrating. It’s a different kind of frustration. It’s not kind of the same as when you’re searching for stuff.”
