grand slam of golf

The Grand Slam of golf consists of four major golfing events held each year; the events are often referred to as the major tournaments and are all recognized as a part of the world's two most prestigious tours, the PGA TOUR in the United States and the PGA European Tour. In order of their playing date, the events that make up golf's modern Grand Slam are:

April - The Masters
June - US Open
July - The Open Championship (known in North America as the British Open)
August - PGA Championship

No player has yet met the modern definition of golf's Grand Slam. The term "Grand Slam" was first applied to Bobby Jones' achievement of winning the four major golfing events of 1930: the U.S. and British Opens, and the U.S. and British Amateurs. The modern definition could not be applied until at least 1934, when The Masters was founded, and had little weight in 1953 when Ben Hogan, after winning The Masters, and US and British Opens, did not compete in the PGA Championship because of the timing of that event in relation to the British Open. Tiger Woods has come closest to meeting the modern definition of golf's Grand Slam by holding all four modern major championships simultaneously (2000 U.S. and British Opens, 2000 PGA Championship, and the 2001 Masters), although not in the same calendar year. Only five golfers have won all of golf's modern major events: Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, and Tiger Woods. Only Tiger Woods have held all 4 tournaments simultaneously, although not in a calendar year. In December of each year since 1979, following the four modern major tournaments, the PGA of America holds a special two-day, 36-hole stroke-play competition exclusively for those players who have won one of the four major championships. If a player wins more than one major in a calendar year, the PGA of America will fill the four-man field by inviting the player(s) with the best overall finishes in that year's majors. This PGA Grand Slam of Golf tournament provides a prize of $1 million and initially was played at a different golf course each year. Since 1994, the Poipu Bay Golf Course on the Hawaiian island of Kauai has been the tournament's permanent home.

The Women's Grand Slam

Women's golf also has a set of majors. No woman has completed a four major "Grand Slam", but Babe Zaharias won all three majors contested in 1950 and Sandra Haynie won both majors in 1974. Six women have completed a "Career grand slam" by winning four different majors. There are variations in the set of four tournaments involved as the players played in different eras. The six are: Pat Bradley; Juli Inkster; Annika Srenstam; Louise Suggs; Karrie Webb; and Mickey Wright.

Grand Slam Of Golf

The Women's Grand Slam

See also