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There’s a reason Jordan Spieth is as popular as he is with golf fans across the world.
For a player who sits comfortably under the global superstar banner, Spieth is about as relatable to us mere mortals as it gets.
Any time the Texan is on screen, you know it’s only a matter of moments before you find yourself empathetically nodding along. It might be that he’s pleading with his golf ball as it flies through the air, or putting himself under the oh-so-familiar mental torture that is the decision to use a five-wood or a nine-iron for a risky second shot into a par-five, only to take the safe option and pipe it into the trees.
We all live the vicarious tour life through Spieth.
And yet he is just four rounds away from about the most unrelatable achievement in the game – the Grand Slam.
“It’s a career goal of mine, a life goal,” Spieth told reporters after his Open triumph in 2017 left the PGA Championship as the only hole in his major CV.
Fast forward to this week and he’s being far more casual about it.
“I’m aware,” he said when asked how much he thinks about it. “But I would take any and all and as many majors as possible regardless of where they come.
“It’s a cool thing if you’re able to hold all four. There’s not many people that have done that and you have an opportunity to do things that are very unique in the game of golf, that’s what stands out, and stands the test of time afterwards.”
This month’s trip to Valhalla will be the 468th major contested in the men’s game. Only five golfers – Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, and Tiger Woods – have won all four.
And while Rory McIlroy’s quest to add a certain Green Jacket to his wardrobe, as well as Phil Mickelson’s now seemingly impossible task of finally claiming the US Open, have grabbed the headlines for many years now, Spieth’s bid for his own chapter in the history books has gone somewhat under the radar.
“The PGA Championship is going to be the toughest for me,” he explained. “If we look historically back on my career, I play this tournament worse than the other three majors just in the way that it’s set up.”
His 12th attempt to win the PGA Championship – and eighth to complete the Grand Slam – will come at a golf course on which Spieth has only competed once. That was the last time the Kentucky club hosted the annual battle for the Wanamaker. He missed the cut by five.
The reality, though, is that Spieth has yet to put up any real challenge at the PGA Championship since completing the third leg of his Slam at Royal Birkdale.
