From the moment Jordan Spieth won The Open Championship in 2017 at Royal Birkdale, the 2015 Masters and U.S. Open champ entered into a race with Rory McIlroy to see who would become the first to join Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, and Tiger Woods in the career Grand Slam club.
Phil Mickelson was part of the race as well, needing only a U.S. Open victory, but that ship has seemingly sailed, so we'll leave Lefty out of this.
Given what Rory and Jordan had accomplished at that time, I don't think anyone would have believed the race would last for more than seven years, but that's obviously how things played out.
McIlroy, of course, finally ended the race last month at The Masters, getting the monkey off his back at Augusta National with a dramatic and emotional playoff victory over Ryder Cup teammate Justin Rose.
Now, Spieth is set to take his next shot at immortality at the upcoming 2025 PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Club. And while he obviously can't beat McIlroy in completing the career Grand Slam, he can still reach this incredible achievement in fewer attempts.
After knocking out the third leg by winning The Open Championship in 2014, McIlroy needed 11 attempts to finish things off at The Masters, while Jordan is set to take attempt number nine. Rory clearly knows how difficult it is to complete this historic task, and he seems to be of the opinion that Spieth actually has it tougher than he did.
"It's hard, I think, for Jordan having to do—you have to go back to the same tournament every year for Jordan, but not the same golf course," McIlroy said ahead of this week's Truist Championship. "I think it's a little bit of a different -- it's a bit of a different proposition for him rather than me having to go back to the same venue every year and trying to, I guess, do that as well."
While Rory makes a solid point, the argument doesn't hold up quite as well when it comes to Quail Hollow, which usually serves as the annual host of the Truist (formerly the Wells Fargo).
That said, however, Spieth typically hasn't made Quail Hollow one of his regular stops on the PGA Tour over the years, only appearing in the event three times, tying for 32nd in his first full season on Tour in 2013, missing the cut in 2023, and tying for 29th a year ago.
There was a fourth individual appearance, of course, as his very first attempt to complete the career Grand Slam came at Quail Hollow back at the 2017 edition of the PGA Championship, which was then the fourth final major championship on the golf calendar.
But that week didn't go particularly well either, as Jordan tied for 28th. But at least he got to watch good friend Justin Thomas win his first major.
Truth be told, the best Spieth has ever played at Quail Hollow was when he went 5-0 in helping the United States beat the International Team at the 2022 Presidents Cup, going 4-0 in foursomes and fourball alongside JT and then defeating Cam Davis in singles. So, perhaps he can pull some of those memories out to help next week.
What doesn't help Spieth is how well McIlroy has played in Charlotte, already owning four career victories at Quail Hollow, the latest coming just last year. And Jordan is well aware of that fact, even making jokes with Rory about it on the range at Philadelphia Cricket Club earlier this week.
With Jordan looking to complete the career Grand Slam and Rory perhaps having a legit shot at a calendar Grand Slam with the way he's been playing this year, just imagine what a Spieth vs. McIlroy Sunday showdown could look like at the PGA Championship.