Jordan Spieth Speaks on Grand Slam Heading Into PGA Championship

It has been a while since we have seen Jordan Spieth atop a leaderboard at a PGA tournament. The last time that he took first place was back in 2022 at the RBC Heritage, where he beat Patrick Cantlay in a playoff.

It has been even longer since we have seen him atop the leaderboard at the end of Sunday’s round in a major. The last time Jordan Spieth took home a victory in one of the PGA’s biggest events was in 2017 when he won The Open Championship at Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England.

That was the third major Spieth had won in his career, following The Masters in 2015 and the U.S. Open at Chambers Bay in the same year. It seemed like inevitably, he would complete the grand slam and win the PGA Championship soon enough.

But, that has not been the case. Rarely has he been in contention at tournaments recently, as his form hasn’t been great. But, there is some solace to be found in that, as the fanfare surrounding his major drought is lessened.

That isn’t the case for Rory Mcilroy, who has to answer questions about his lack of a victory at The Masters every year. For weeks, and sometimes months, the main story is McIlroy being one short of the career grand slam himself.

For whatever reason, Jordan Spieth doesn’t face the same level of scrutiny. While it is not to be bombarded by questions, part of the reason is also because people just don’t see him as a viable threat to win at Valhalla this weekend.

“He’s got more accolades,” Spieth said about the Grand Slam hype between him and McIlroy. “He’s been a better player over his career. Maybe that creates a little noise. He’s been a bit more vocal about it himself, so maybe that makes a little bit more difference.”

McIlroy failed to complete the grand slam for the 10th consecutive year at The Masters in April. It is now Jordan Spieth’s turn to take a crack at completing the grand slam, as this will be his eighth try. But, unlike The Masters, which is played annually at Augusta, the PGA Championship has been at seven different courses the last seven times Spieth has failed to come in first.

“For me, it’s like the PGA Championship feels decently similar to a number of tournaments we play,” Spieth said. “I don’t mean that in a bad way. It’s played on some of the biggest, best golf courses. But the identity is not the same as the other three. In my mind, you don’t need to find a different way to win, versus guys who don’t have some of the other ones.

“We play a few tournaments a year that could be PGA Championships if you change the branding and the grandstands.”

Should Spieth win the PGA Championship this week, he would become the sixth golfer ever to do so. Arnold Palmer and Tom Watson missed the career grand slam lacking only the PGA Championship like Speith.