See the six players with career Grand Slam in men's professional golf

Rory McIlroy joined elite company with a win at the Masters Tournament on Sunday. McIlroy battled himself, the field and Augusta National Golf Club en route to a dramatic playoff victory over Justin Rose, converting the winning birdie on the first extra hole before dropping to his knees as the moment engulfed him. It was a topsy-turvy Sunday that the golf world won't soon forget, and it ended with McIlroy in a green jacket.

McIlroy became the sixth man to win all four major championships, otherwise known as the career Grand Slam. McIlroy had been one leg away for the last 11 years, needing only a Masters victory to jump into a club of the game’s ultra-elite. When he began the quest, he was a bright-eyed 25-year-old on top of the world. Although he’s now graying, he overcame a decade of scar tissue at Augusta National to complete golf's premier quartet.

"This is my 17th time here, and I started to wonder if it would ever be my time," McIlroy said afterward. "I'm just absolutely honored and thrilled, and so proud to be able to call myself a Masters champion ... A moment like that makes all the years and all the close calls worth it."

Here's a look at the six players who have achieved the career Grand Slam in men's professional golf.

Gene Sarazen

U.S. Open (1922), PGA Championship (1922), The Open Championship (1932), Masters (1935)

Sarazen authored perhaps the most famous shot in Masters history 90 years ago, the "shot heard 'round the world" that led to an albatross on the par-5 15th and spurred him to his first (and only) green jacket. At that point, the career Grand Slam wasn't the same consideration as it is today, with the Masters in just its second year of inception. But his playoff win over Craig Wood gave him his seventh and final major title to go alongside three PGA Championships, two U.S. Opens and an Open Championship from 1922-33.

Ben Hogan

PGA Championship (1946), U.S. Open (1948), Masters (1951), The Open Championship (1953)

Hogan famously only made one appearance in The Open Championship in his illustrious career, but he made it count. Having already won the Masters and U.S. Open in the early months of 1953, Hogan made a rare trip to Scotland and teed it up at Carnoustie, where the par-5 sixth hole later became known as "Hogan's Alley." Sharing the lead after 54 holes, he went on to win by four to capture the final leg of the career Grand Slam in his first attempt. It closed out one of the greatest single seasons of all time in the majors (he did not play the PGA Championship that year). Hogan's win at Carnoustie was the last of his nine major victories, as he also captured two Masters, two PGA Championships and four U.S. Opens from 1946-53.

Gary Player

The Open Championship (1959), Masters (1961), PGA Championship (1962), U.S. Open (1965)

The U.S. Open is the only major championship Player didn’t win multiple times, but the South African got it over the line at the 1965 U.S. Open at Bellerive Country Club to etch his name in the list. Player defeated Kel Nagle in an 18-hole playoff to become the first foreign-born U.S. Open champion since 1927. Player was 29 years old when he completed the career Grand Slam.

Jack Nicklaus

U.S. Open (1962), Masters (1963), PGA Championship (1963), The Open Championship (1966)

Nicklaus won the 1966 Open Championship at Muirfield Golf Links by one shot over Doug Sanders and David Thomas. It was Nicklaus’ first of three victories at The Open. Nicklaus was already a five-time major winner when he won The ‘66 Open. He famously holds the record with 18 major championship victories.

Tiger Woods

Masters (1997), PGA Championship (1999), U.S. Open (2000), Open Championship (2000)

Woods achieved the feat in his first try, winning The Open Championship in historic fashion in 2000. After claiming the U.S. Open the month before, Woods blitzed the field at the Old Course at St. Andrews, shooting 67-66-67-69 (19-under) to win The Open by eight shots.

Prior to McIlroy, Woods was the latest player to win the career Grand Slam. Others had gotten close – famously Phil Mickelson only needs a U.S. Open to join the club, and Jordan Spieth needs just the PGA Championship – but were unable to cross the finish line.

Rory McIlroy

U.S. Open (2011), PGA Championship (2012), Open Championship (2014), Masters (2025)

Earlier in his career, McIlroy's induction into golf's most esteemed club seemed inevitable. He earned his first major title, the 2011 U.S. Open at Congressional, by eight strokes. His second major, the 2012 PGA Championship at Kiawah Island, also came by eight strokes. After winning the 2014 Open Championship at Royal Liverpool, only the Masters stood between McIlroy and the career Grand Slam. He was just 24 at the time.

As the years progressed, though, the golf world started to wonder if McIlroy could ever overcome the mounting scar tissue at Augusta National to earn his first green jacket. He finished runner-up in 2022 on the strength of a final-round 64, but he didn't seriously threaten winner Scottie Scheffler on that Sunday.

McIlroy exorcised those demons in the biggest way at the 2025 Masters, making birdie on the first playoff hole to defeat Justin Rose after both finished at 11-under 277. McIlroy stuffed a wedge to 3 feet and converted the winning birdie after Rose's 15-footer slid by. McIlroy took a two-stroke lead through 54 holes with rounds of 72-66-66, and he overcame a double bogey on the par-5 13th in a final-round 73 that was just enough to hang on for a playoff spot.

At age 35, McIlroy became the first player since Tiger Woods to complete the career Grand Slam.