Would McIlroy’s Open absence taint a potential Spieth Grand Slam?
No one has ever completed the modern, single-season Grand Slam.
Ben Hogan was the only player ever to come close, picking up the Masters, U.S. Open and British Open in 1953, but was denied the chance to win the PGA Championship, which overlapped with Hogan’s Carnoustie triumph. That season was as good as the Hawk could have. Then 40, he didn’t defend the Claret Jug the next year at Royal Birkdale and never won another major title.
Arnold Palmer had a chance in 1960 to go three-for-three, but came up a shot shy of Kel Nagle at the St. Andrews.
A dozen years later, Jack Nicklaus came up a shot shy against arguably his greatest foil, Lee Trevino, at Muirfield with the third leg of the Grand Slam on the line.
Another 30 years later in 2002, it was gale-force winds that stopped Tiger Woods’ pursuit of the single-season Slam. In the third round at Muirfield, Woods played through an incredible storm that, until this year, led him to a dream-shattering 81, which represented his highest-ever score as a pro.
Father Time. The Purple Clasher. The Merry Mex. Mother Nature.
Each quest for the single-season Grand Slam ended with the dragon that couldn’t be slayed. So, who could stop Jordan Spieth?
There’s one guy who we know can’t this week at St. Andrews, and he’s the No. 1-ranked player in the world. Rory McIlroy is sitting on the sidelines, forced to withdraw from his title defense because of a ruptured ankle ligament suffered playing soccer on July 4. It’s unclear how long the four-time major winner will be out of action, but, in the context of what could unfold in 2015, his presence this week is really all that matters.
For conversation’s sake, let’s say Spieth is announced as the Champion Golfer of the Year on Sunday at the Home of Golf and goes on to lift the Wanamaker in August at Whistling Straits to do the unthinkable.
Would the accomplishment of the single-season Grand Slam be somehow tainted by McIlroy RSVP’ing with his regrets for at least one of the majors?
Unequivocally, no.
Were Spieth to pull off the Grand Slam, he’d have to 96 guys at the Masters and 155 guys each at the U.S. and British Opens and the PGA Championship. That’s 561 players in total. There’s overlap, yes. Each major has its fair share of also-rans and has-beens. However, to say that one missing guy, even a guy as great as McIlroy is, would ruin that accomplishment is outrageous.
Had the Grand Slam been pulled off a slew of times, like the Triple Crown, then there would be some room for scorn and scrutiny. American Pharoah wasn’t as good as Secretariat. Pharoah’s Belmont time would have left him 10 lengths behind the mind-boggling 2:24 it took Secretariat to clinch the Triple Crown in 1973. If Spieth wins the Grand Slam, there is no modern comparison. He’s the only one.
When something incredible and unprecedented is done, there’s often little attention paid to what prevented it from being perfect and more time spent marveling at what made it unique.
So, if in a little over a month, we’re talking about Grand Slam winner Jordan Spieth, there shouldn’t be any questions about Rory McIlroy’s absence.
For the haters, there would only be one question: If you think you can do better, why don’t you give it a try?
Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.
