Golf grand slam: Who can follow Rory McIlroy and complete the Grand Slam in 2026?

Rory McIlroy receives the green jacket from Scottie Scheffler after winning the 2025 Masters at Augusta. Photo / Getty Images

With his Masters win at Augusta last April, Rory McIlroy joined Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as male Grand Slam winners. But who could be next to join the prestigious list? Cameron McMillan looks at eight possible contenders who could do it this year.

Scottie Scheffler

Needs: US Open

You’re going to hear this a lot in the build-up to June’s US Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club. Scheffler can complete the slam this year, which would be the joint-shortest timeframe with Tiger Woods who also needed only four years from first major title to the grand slam title.

Scheffler, a two-time Masters champion, added the PGA Championship and The Open to his list in 2025. Now he has the US Open remaining – where he was runner-up in 2022 finishing a shot behind Matt Fitzpatrick, and third in 2023 as part of four top 10 finishes. The world No 1 will be favourite, or at least joint-favourite with McIlroy, at all four majors this year and likely for the many majors after.

Xander Schauffele

Needs: Masters, US Open

Schauffele started 2024 with zero majors but after finally claiming his first at the PGA Championship, it was quickly followed with a second at Royal Troon. With those two wins he has the confidence to claim more. But an intercostal strain at the start of 2025 saw him take a while to [ahem] get back into the swing of things. If he wins at Augusta, then Schauffele and Scheffler will both be chasing the slam at the US Open.

After a tie for eighth at the Masters last year, he made it five straight top 10s in majors, including the two wins. He ended 2025 with a seventh in his title defence at The Open. He’s a serious contender to complete the Grand Slam in the next few years, if not this year.

Jon Rahm

Needs: The Open, PGA Championship

The former world No 1 shocked the golfing world when he joined the LIV Golf tour at the end of 2023 and struggled in majors at first but had a much better season in 2025, including two top tens. He was the first European to win the Masters and US Open and is the best non-American to next join the grand slam list. He’s had a second and a third at The Open, while finishing eighth twice at the PGA Championship.

Jordan Spieth

Needs: PGA Championship

Spieth has three majors to his name – the Masters and US Open in 2015 and the Open in 2017 – which he won in pretty quick time. Since that impressive run, which also included a second placing at the PGA, he’s been chasing the slam. The closest Spieth’s come is a tie for third in 2019 – though it was six shots back from winner Brooks Koepka. Spieth has dropped to 75th in the world and the 32-year-old hasn’t won a PGA Tour event since 2022. He missed the cut at last year’s PGA Championship. But he is still an outside chance at each major. This year’s PGA Championship is at Aronimink Golf Club, Pennsylvania.

Phil Mickelson

Needs: US Open

The 55-year-old has seven majors, including three Masters, but he’s 0-34 at the US Open with six runner-up finishes. Another major might be beyond the LIV Golf player but some may have thought that five years ago when he won the PGA Championship at Kiawah Island. This year’s US Open is at Shinnecock Hills, where he had one of his second placings, albeit 23 years by the time he tees up, if in the field. He’ll have to go through qualifying.

Phil Mickelson has been runner up at the US Open six times. Photo / Photosport

Brooks Koepka

Needs: Masters, The Open

Koepka has an impressive five majors, two US Opens and three PGA Championships, the last of which at Oak Hill three years ago came after he joined LIV Golf. He held a two-shot lead going into the final round of the 2023 Masters, only to shoot a 75 and finish second to Jon Rahm. Last year, an eight on the last saw him miss the cut. Koepka has four top 10s at the Open, including a sixth at Royal Birkdale, which hosts the event this year. But his form at the majors has been inconsistent, missing the cut at three of the four majors in 2025 – including the Masters and The Open.

Collin Morikawa

Needs: Masters, US Open

Morikawa is the youngest on this list and was in great form in 2024, but last season was certainly a down year, failing to win a tournament, which saw him drop to 16th in the world. The PGA and Open champion has two top-five finishes at both the Masters and the US Open, the two titles that elude him, and was t-14th at Augusta last year.

Dustin Johnson

Needs: The Open, PGA Championship

Johnson is another LIV Golf player who is hard to judge on form, but he has shown in the past that he’s got the goods to complete the slam. He’s finished second twice at the PGA Championship (2019 and 2020) and was runner-up at 2011 Open. He has six top 10s at the PGA and five at the Open. However, six missed cuts in his past nine majors hint that LIV might not be the best for his major hopes.