Jordan Spieth gets another shot at the career Grand Slam as Scottie Scheffler’s rise adds pressure, motivation and Texas bragging rights.
Jordan Spieth enters the PGA Championship with another chance to complete the career Grand Slam, but the storyline feels bigger now because Scottie Scheffler is chasing the same history right behind him.
Spieth will get his 10th opportunity to win the only major missing from his resume when the PGA Championship begins Thursday at Aronimink Golf Club.
Scheffler, meanwhile, will have his first chance to finish his own career Grand Slam next month at the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills.
It’s a fascinating twist for two Texas stars whose careers have crossed for nearly two decades.
Back in 2009, Spieth was the junior golf phenom.
At the Byron Nelson Junior Championship that year, he shot 62 and won by 11 shots while a 13-year-old Scheffler watched from a few steps behind.
Scheffler has since said Spieth was “always the best junior” and someone he studied while coming up.
Now, the roles have flipped.
Scheffler has become the dominant force in professional golf, passing Spieth in the world ranking at the end of 2021 and pulling away since then.
Spieth’s last worldwide victory came at the RBC Heritage four years ago. Scheffler has won 19 times since, including Olympic gold in Paris and two Hero World Challenge titles.
Still, Spieth says Scheffler’s success doesn’t make him bitter. It makes him curious.
“I want to pay attention to what he’s doing and figure out how to do it,” Spieth said.
That dynamic has carried into their regular money games away from tournament golf. Spieth, Scheffler and Si Woo Kim are part of a group that often includes Tony Romo, Brenden Morrow, retired Tour pros and club champions.
The games include “Wolf” and head-to-head matches, with Spieth and Scheffler reportedly playing for $100 a hole.
Scheffler apparently has the edge there, too.
“He calls me ATM,” Kim said.
Spieth would love to change the conversation by winning the PGA Championship first. He finished runner-up at Whistling Straits in 2015 but has only one PGA Championship top 10 since winning The Open in 2017.
The recent results haven’t always matched his confidence. Spieth has three top-12 finishes this year, but costly mistakes have kept him from serious Sunday contention.
“A couple of bad swings at the wrong time have prevented me from teeing off Sunday and feeling like I had a chance,” Spieth said.
For Spieth, the next step is patience. The Grand Slam chase is heavy, but one clean week could change everything.
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