In 2024, Xander Schauffele secured two major championships, bringing him significantly closer to achieving his aspiration of a career grand slam, a goal he shares with Rory McIlroy.
Xander Schauffele is on a quest for the prestigious career grand slam in golf, a goal he shares with Rory McIlroy.
Achieving a career grand slam means a golfer has won all four major tournaments during their career. This year, Schauffele celebrated his first two major victories, taking home the titles of the PGA Championship and The Open Championship.
The American golfer is currently at the midpoint of realizing his aspiration, standing just one significant title behind McIlroy. In contrast, the Northern Irish player faces a singular challenge ahead—the Masters Tournament.
To attain the exceptional feat of winning all four major titles, Schauffele must triumph in both the U.S. Open and the Masters. He has openly expressed that this goal has been a long-standing dream of his. The 30-year-old conveyed to MailSport: “Achieving the career slam has consistently been noted as a personal ambition of mine.”
Achieving a second title after such a long wait is an incredible feeling. Expectations can be tough to handle, and I believe everyone in sports experiences a bit of cortisol in their system. You deal with stress, anxiety, and challenging moments. I certainly have.
Reaching that second milestone is fantastic, and it brings back memories of jotting down my dreams with my dad when I was around 13 or 14—thinking about being the number one player in the world, winning majors, and all those aspirations.
Schauffele narrowly missed the opportunity to claim another Olympic gold medal to complement his victory at Tokyo 2020, concluding the third round in Paris tied for first place alongside Spain’s Jon Rahm. However, both leaders faltered on the final day, resulting in Schauffele finishing the tournament in a tie for ninth place with a score of 12-under-par, seven strokes behind the leader, Scottie Scheffler.
In contrast, McIlroy experienced greater success at the Olympics, finishing the tournament tied for fifth with a final score of 15-under-par, just four strokes shy of the leader. Although neither golfer secured a medal in Paris, they both aspire to achieve the pinnacle of success in their sport, with the legendary Tiger Woods expressing confidence that it is merely a matter of time before McIlroy realizes this dream.
Before the Masters Tournament kicked off in April, Woods, a five-time champion, had some high praise for McIlroy’s skills, according to Golf Digest. He said, “There’s no doubt he’ll win it eventually. Rory’s got too much talent and skill. He’ll be competing in this event for many years to come. He’ll make it happen; it’s just a question of when.”
He added, “I really believe Rory will become a fantastic Masters champion someday, and it could even happen this week. You never know. With his talent, his style of play, and how well the course suits him, it’s only a matter of time.”
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