The three players – Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth and Phil Mickelson – who have the best chance of joining golf’s ultra exclusive ‘Grand Slam Club’ have been drawn together for the opening two rounds of next week’s U.S. Open.
McIlroy still needs a Masters victory to join only five players to be have won a Grand Slam while Spieth needs to capture the PGA Championship and Mickelson will tee-up next week in his 27th U.S. Open needing a victory, having been runner-up on no fewer than six occasions, if he is to be welcomed as a Grand Slam winner.
The trio will tee-up next Thursday at 8.02am local time boasting 13 Majors between them.
It will be McIlroy’s 10th U.S. Open having broken all sorts of championship records with his 2011 U.S. Open triumph at Congressional.
Spieth, winner of the 2015 U.S. Open just months after his captured the Masters, is contesting a sixth U.S. Open having been placed third a year ago at Erin Hills.
Mickelson made his U.S. Open debut as a then amateur in 1990. He has been runner-up in 1999, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2009 and more recently in 2013.
Tiger Woods returns to the U.S. Open for a first time in three years grouped with World No. 1 Justin Thomas and 2016 U.S. Open winning Dustin Johnson.
Graeme McDowell, winner of the 2010 U.S. Open, is out the first two days with fellow U.S. Open winners Lucas Glover (2009) and Webb Simpson (2012).
Shane Lowry, who went so close to victory two years ago at Oakmont, has been drawn with American Chez Reavie but with one other to join the group given the USGA has indicaed TBD on the first two rounds draw sheet.
Leave a comment