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Golf Monthly
Golf Monthly
Sport
Elliott Heath

'Xander Schauffele Should Be The Pick And For Good Reason' - Which Male Golfer Will Be Next To Win The Career Grand Slam? We Discuss...

Xander Schauffele, Rory McIlroy and jordan Spieth celebrate.

Xander Schauffele's sensational run of two Majors in three starts has already started to prompt questions over whether he can complete the career grand slam.

The World No.2 needs a Green Jacket and a US Open trophy to complete the four and it has to be said that his record in both of those Majors is very good - with a runner-up finish in The Masters and a WORST finish of T14 in eight US Opens.

Schauffele himself pointed to the slam as a goal of his.

"Yeah, I mean, before I had any Majors, it's something I've always wanted," Schauffele said.

"I'm one step closer and still have a long way to go. But if you don't see yourself doing it, you're never going to do it."

Whether he does it is one question, but another is who could be the next male golfer to complete the career slam? Currently Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth and Phil Mickelson are just one away while a number of players are two away including Schauffele, Brooks Koepka, Collin Morikawa and Dustin Johnson.

So who will be next? Five Golf Monthly writers have their say...

I'd have to say Xander Schauffele is the most likely player to complete the Career Grand Slam next.

He's certainly got the game for the US Open and he has an excellent record at The Masters. He just takes it over Brooks Koekpa for me.

Jordan Spieth is a shadow of his former self and I'm afraid to say Rory McIlroy will never win The Masters.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

This is SUCH a hard question. 

Nobody has completed a career grand slam since Tiger Woods. Phil Mickelson couldn't even do it. So to say that any of the current generation of pros will do it is still not certain.

If I had to give an answer, I'd say Rory McIlroy will get a Masters before anyone else captures all four. He has looked closer to ending his Major drought over the past few years and will surely be very motivated to keep grinding after witnessing what his peers - who he knows he is just as good as - have done this year.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Jordan Spieth. 

Although, in the past two seasons, he has been just as likely to miss the cut as he has been to make a run at winning, Spieth won't allow the current state of his game to carry on without making some serious changes. 

He is an unbelievable talent, let's not forget, and if all the stars align he could have a week at next year's PGA Championship.

This is tricky, and I wouldn’t want to put any money on it, but I’m going for Rory McIlroy. The reason being is purely because he’s just one away (The Masters) and still playing to a very high level.

Phil Mickelson’s best days are behind him, and his chances of winning the US Open are next to zero. Jordan Spieth, meanwhile, who’s chasing the PGA Championship, appears to be fighting too many swing issues.

McIlroy needs to regroup after his US Open heartbreak, and I think he will. It might not happen in 2025, but I see him strongly contesting for the Green Jacket at least once over the next few years.

I will say this. I do believe Xander Schauffele will finish his career as a member of this exclusive club.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

If you had a betting market on it, Rory McIlroy will still just about be favourite as he only needs The Masters and that’s coming up next, but there’s so many negatives with the pressure building up to the first Major of the year and of course his latest scar tissue from Pinehurst.

So even though you could claim recency bias, Xander Schauffele should be the pick and for good reason, as we’ve seen before how players can become dominant for a period of time and he’s well capable of a similar run to McIlroy, Brooks Koepka, Jordan Spieth or Dustin Johnson.

Those runs fade though, and Koepka’s dominant four-major burst then his resurgence last year still yielded just two different Majors, while Scheffler’s only got The Masters and Jordan Spieth, who only needs the PGA, hasn’t looked a serious contender for a while.

So Schauffele has to cash in now, and another point in his favour is that his best form has come in the two Majors that he still needs – a runner-up at Augusta as part of four top-10 Masters finishes and a stellar US Open resume that boasts seven top 10s in eight appearances and worst finish of T14.

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