Rory McIlroy’s victory at The Masters in 2025 was the moment he’d been chasing for 15 years. With it, he became just the sixth man in golf history to complete the career grand slam – joining Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, and Tiger Woods.
“Getting the Masters, the career Grand Slam, the fifth major, getting all that out of the way. I think it will allow me to play with a lot more freedom,” McIlroy said.
This week at Shinnecock Hills, Scottie Scheffler has his own shot at joining that group – if he can win the U.S. Open.
Don’t expect him to be losing sleep over it, though.
Scheffler Downplays the Grand Slam
Asked about the milestone on Tuesday, Scheffler was measured in his response – almost indifferent, really.
“It’s kind of a funny thing. It’s like, yeah, if I win this tournament, that would be amazing, but I think then I show up the next week, and it’s like, ‘OK, now Scottie’s won the Grand Slam, he’s won all these golf tournaments. Now, where do we go from here?’”
He went further, pushing back on the idea that a single title – even one this significant – could bring lasting satisfaction.
“So no matter what, I think as a player and as a professional athlete, you’re never going to live up to the expectations of people. I think sometimes that’s a little bit of the fallacy in our sport is like, if I win the U.S. Open, then I’m going to be satisfied. I’ve won all the tournaments, and my career is essentially over, and I’ve accomplished everything I could want to accomplish. But I think the goal posts are always just moved further and further.”
“…For me, would it be a dream to win the U.S. Open? Of course. But at the end of the day, the Grand Slam has never been a motivating factor for me. I always just wanted to be the best version of myself, and that got me this far.”
It’s worth noting the context here. McIlroy spent well over a decade trying to complete the slam – the weight of that pursuit was visible every April at Augusta. Scheffler, by contrast, is making his first attempt after winning both the Open Championship and the PGA Championship for the first time in 2025.
His perspective might shift if the U.S. Open continues to elude him in the years ahead. For now, he’s remarkably relaxed about doing something only six men have ever done.