Gang of three likely to dominate coverage
Jordan Spieth set out in the US PGA Championship on his mission to complete the career grand slam alongside the last player to achieve the feat, as well as a golfer most assumed would make it into the pantheon.
In 2000, Tiger Woods joined Ben Hogan, Gene Sarazen, Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus in one of the game’s most exclusive clubs, and 22 years later his fellow American is presented with a chance to enrol.
Last month, Rory McIlroy, 33, had his closest brush with that brand of immortality when finishing second at the Masters and although, of course, the Northern Irishman has his own ambitions to resume the major trail after an eightyear barren run, he will have a front-row seat to see if the American can succeed where he, so far, has come up short.
For Spieth, having finished second in Dallas last weekend, and having won three weeks before at Hilton Head, this is being billed as his finest shout yet after five attempts (his best finish at the US PGA since winning the 2017 Open was a tie for third in 2019, six shots behind Brooks Koepka). Spieth, 28, does not quite see it that way.
“It’s hard to say it’s the best chance I’ve had to complete the slam because you’ve got to play three nice rounds to have a chance on Sunday,” Spieth said.
“I don’t talk about it much. But it’s certainly an elephant in the room for me. It’s a goal of mine.
“Certainly if you just told me I was going to win one tournament the rest of my life, I’d say I want to win this one.
“If you told me before my career started I was going to win one tournament ever, I’d say the Masters because that was my favourite.
“But things change and long term it would be really cool to say that you captured the four biggest golf tournaments in the world.”
There can be no doubt that the grouping is the marquee threeball at Southern Hills. McIlroy famously once said “playing with Tiger gives me a headache” and talked about the distractions the circus throws up. However, Spieth is determined to enjoy the experience.
“I think you’ve got to embrace it,” Spieth said. “Some day, I’ll get to tell my kid, ‘Hey, I got to play with Tiger in a major’.
“You know, last year [after Woods’ car crash] none of us were sure that was ever going to happen again.
“I know it’s great for golf, but selfishly it’s pretty exciting to be able to play these events with the guy who you idolised growing up. “You know there’s going to be some extra noise — you’ve got to wait longer for the crosswalks, when Tiger finishes out on a hole there’s going to be people immediately leaving. “You just know it’s going to happen.”