Scottie Scheffler isn't obsessed with career Grand Slam, but aims for it in final round of U.S. Open
Scottie Scheffler has remained mostly stoic about what it would mean to become only the seventh player to complete the career Grand Slam.
The No. 1 player in the world said in a news conference Tuesday that the accomplishment had “never been a motivating factor for me.”
But he’s human. Just like us.
Though Scheffler is a steep six shots back of leader Wyndham Clark, he’ll be with him in Sunday’s final pairing as he’s tied for second place at one under with Sahith Theegala, Tom Kim and Sam Stevens. A certain mystique — and perhaps a sense that he is inevitable — has followed Scheffler through his 196 weeks atop the Official World Golf Ranking.
He’ll have his work cut out for him on Sunday, but the day represents plenty. His first crack at the career Grand Slam. His 30th birthday. His first Father’s Day since his second child, a son named Remy, was born in March.
Of course it means something.
“Yeah, I think it's appropriate to understand what's at stake,” he said Saturday after shooting a 1-under-par 69. “I've worked really hard for a long time to have a chance to win golf tournaments and to win major championships. Yeah, I think understanding the moment and giving it your best shot I think is all part of the process.
“Yeah, Father's Day, my birthday, I kind of lost a day there. You only get one day to celebrate.”
He’s already checked most of the boxes that golfers dream of: four major championship victories — the Masters in 2022 and 2024, and the PGA Championship and the British Open last year — three Ryder Cup appearances, 20 PGA Tour wins (which give him lifetime Tour membership), an Olympic gold medal and much more from a dazzling amateur career.
Three fortunate golfers completed the Grand Slam in their first attempt after winning their third major: Gene Sarazen at the 1935 Masters, Ben Hogan at the 1953 British Open and Tiger Woods — whom Scheffler, fairly or unfairly, often has drawn comparisons to — at the 2000 British Open. Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus completed the Grand Slam on their third attempts, Player at the 1965 U.S. Open and Nicklaus at the 1966 British Open.
But if anyone can relate to the pressure that completing the career Grand Slam brings, it’s one of Scheffler’s peers: Rory McIlroy. McIlroy, the No. 2 player in the OWGR behind Scheffler, picked up the third leg of the Grand Slam in July 2014, when he won the British Open as a 25-year-old.
Wondering when or if it would ever happen, McIlroy faced more than a decade of questions about it. So when he finally won the Masters in a playoff against Justin Rose in 2025, the release of emotion was palpable as he flung his putter in the air, put his hands to his head and fell to the ground. With the pressure gone, McIlroy won the Masters again this year.
Sure, McIlroy is different from Scheffler in many regards. The 37-year-old Northern Irishman was a kid prodigy, telling BBC as an 8-year-old in 1998 that his goal was to win “all the majors.” Heck, Amazon Prime Video even made a documentary on McIlroy’s journey leading to his 2025 Masters win.
On the other hand, Scheffler has had a unique, refreshing perspective on what the career Grand Slam would mean.
“It's kind of a funny thing,” he said Tuesday. “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?
“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 goalposts are always just moved further and further.”
Scheffler’s 2-under 68 on Friday snapped his 10-round streak of not breaking par at the U.S. Open. On Saturday, he was 1 over through 13 holes before things turned.
He chipped in for birdie on 14, pumping his fist twice and appearing to scream, “Come on!” He followed that with a 12-foot birdie putt on 15 and another subtle fist pump. He had an unbelievable approach shot on the par-5 16th, hitting it within 15 feet of the pin, but ultimately two-putted for birdie.
He didn’t end strong, posting a bogey on the 17th and a par on the 18th after missing a 7-foot birdie putt, but there’s reason to be confident. Scheffler’s back-nine 32 matched the lowest score this week, and he had never birdied three consecutive U.S. Open holes until Saturday.
He said he did a “good job” of keeping himself in the tournament while recognizing he’ll need a “really nice round” to catch Clark.
“We want to be in these positions,” he said. “This is why we practice and play, to have the opportunity to win golf tournaments, and that's what tomorrow is.”
Really, it’s a chance at golf immortality. Even if he doesn’t say so.
Ben Dickson is Newsday Sports' general assignment reporter. He joined Newsday’s high school sports staff in 2023 after graduating from Maryland, where he covered several of the Terrapins' teams.
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