The interesting case of Rory, Brooks, Jordan

Early major success hasn't translated into double-digit grand slam victories

In the world of team sports, there is lots of talk about winning a championship. Obviously it's difficult to be the best of 30 or 32 teams of highly talented professionals, and yet ownership of a World Series ring, an NBA title or a Super Bowl victory represents the ultimate. Hall of Famers such as Ernie Banks, Dan Marino and Charles Barkley have been negatively judged for having never played on a championship team. A Super Bowl win for Matthew Stafford is perhaps the deal-maker for a place in Canton, Ohio. Multiple NBA titles are why Draymond Green is so highly regarded. Had he been in Sacramento it might have been a different story.

As an individual sport, golfers don't have to worry about struggling or petulant teammates. They have around 50 tournaments per season to prove their greatness and they have four major championships each year to heighten the awareness of their impressive talents. We see Sergio Garcia in a different light now that he is a Masters champ. The same was true for Tom Kite, Freddie Couples and Davis Love III, all one-time major winners.

True, some golfers can win a grand slam title and are generally forgotten one decade later. After all, Shaun Micheel, Todd Hamilton, Ben Curtis and Bill Rogers have just as many major wins as Freddie and Sergio.

In the case of three major winners of the modern era, there is a relatively new phenomena of note. After initially struggling on the European Tour, Brooks Koepka has won two United States Opens and two PGA Championships. Koepka won all four of his major titles within 23 months. His first Open win at Erin Hills was in June of 2017. Brooks was 27 years old. He won another Open, won the 2018 PGA, and recorded his second PGA Championship victory at Bethpage in May of 2019.He won all four majors while in his 20s.

Rory McIlroy also holds onto four major titles.Rory was a top-notch junior golfer As an 18-year-old, he was the low amateur in the 2007 British Open. He won the U.S. Open at Congressional in June of 2011. He won the PGA one year later and then took home two majors in 2014 with victories in the British Open in July and a second PGA championship in August. He was 25 years old. We thought Rory would have 10 majors by now. He still has four.

Jordan Spieth is the owner of three major championships. A known golfing entity while still in high school, Jordan turned pro after one year of college golf at the University of Texas. He was 21 years old when he tied Tiger's scoring record in capturing the 2015 Masters. Two months later he won the U.S. Open at Chambers Bay. In July of 2017 he outlasted Matt Kuchar to win the British Open. He would turn 24 the following week.

It's hard to think of any other professional golfer who has won three or four majors in such a short period of time at such a young age and didn't go on to win a bundle of majors throughout his career. Jack Nicklaus won the 1962 U.S. Open at Oakmont as a 22-year-old PGA Tour rookie. He won his fourth ma

jor title, the 1965 Masters, as a 25 year old. It's pretty common knowledge that Jack has 18 career grand slam wins. Tiger Woods was 21 years old when he won the 1997 Masters. Tiger won his fourth major at St. Andrews at the 2000 British Open. Woods was 24 years old. He currently owns 15 major titles.

When Rory, Brooks and Jordan began to accumulate those major wins in a short amount of time at a young age, lots of pundits as well as fans of the game began to surmise that this trio would get near double-digit grand slam victories. After Jack and Tiger, Walter Hagen owns 11 major titles. A product of the pre- and post-World War I era, Hagen won his titles at time when there was little talk of majors. There was no Masters. After that Hall of Famers Ben Hogan and Gary Player hold nine major titles. Tom Watson has eight majors and a fivesome of longtime golfers of note have seven grand slam wins, including Sam Snead, Harry Vardon, Gene Sarazen, Bobby Jones and Arnold Palmer. Lee Trevino, Nick Faldo and Phil Mickelson have six majors to their credit while Byron Nelson, Peter Thomson and Seve Ballesteros won five majors as did two members

of the Great Triumvirate, James Braid and J.H. Taylor.

So how did the 19 aforementioned golfers with five or more majors get to that stage? Professional golf was very different 100 and more years ago, so let's eliminate Braid, Taylor, Vardon, Sarazen, Hagen and Jones from this conversation. We know that Nicklaus and Woods won early and often. Of the other 11 golfers with five or more majors, all had a long journey when it came to accumulating major wins.

Ben Hogan, Sam Snead and Byron Nelson were giants of the post-World War II era. Hogan won nine majors during an eight-year period in the 1940s and 1950s. Snead won seven majors beginning with the 1942 PGA through the 1954 Masters. Nelson's five majors began with the 1937 Masters through the 1945

PGA. Hogan, Nelson and Snead played during a time when majors were canceled because of World War II. Gary Player was a big adherent of fitness and showed it throughout his long career. He won nine majors with the first being his British Open win in 1959 and the last won occurring at the 1978 Masters.

Player's contemporary, Arnold Palmer, won seven majors between 1958 and 1964. He won the Masters in even-numbered years

in 1958, 1960, 1962 and 1964. Lee Trevino went from the driving range to a U.S. Open championship in 1968 and 16 years later he won his sixth major at the PGA. Tom Watson took home five British Open titles, one U.S. Open and two Masters between 1975-83. European Tour stars Nick Faldo and Seve Ballesteros won six and five majors, respectively, in the pre-Tiger Woods era. Faldo won his majors during a nineyear period while Seve did the same

My theme is that I can't think of young golfers in the post-World War II era who have won three or more majors in a short period of time and then stopped winning majors. True, some modern era golfers such as Padraig Harrington and Nick Price won three majors in two years, but they did so in the prime of their careers as 30-somethings.

What is the story with Rory, Brooks and Jordan? Is the money too good? What about family life?

Are the endorsements taking away from their practice time? Has the quest for more power gotten in the way of Brooks Koepka and his accumulation of majors in the way it has deterred the career of Bryson DeChambeau? Or could it be that it's really hard to win a bunch of majors nowadays? Only time will tell although we could get an answer in a few more weeks at the PGA Championship.