Man, that title popped into my head last week – Who won all 4 golf majors? Sounded simple, right? Figured I’d whip up a quick post celebrating those legends. Famous guys like Tiger, Jack… piece of cake.
How it went down
Started easy. Hopped online, searched “golf major winners list.” Bam, tons of lists pop up. Masters, US Open, Open Championship, PGA Champ. Cool. Scanning through, seeing the usual suspects: Tiger Woods (that guy!), Jack Nicklaus, Ben Hogan… my fingers were itching to type.
But then… wait a minute. I kept seeing another name pop up when I dug deeper: Gene Sarazen. Huh? Wasn’t sure. Then saw another one: Gary Player. Did they win all four too? Needed to know for sure. Couldn’t just guess and look like a fool. This started feeling way less straightforward than I thought. Went down a total rabbit hole.
Here’s the thing I messed up at first: Forgot the calendar used to be different! Way back when Sarazen played, the “majors” weren’t always the same four events we know today. Ancient history, man. Totally threw me. I had lists from different websites contradicting each other. One site would list him as a Grand Slam winner, another might not mention it. My head started spinning. Was my initial list even right? Took me ages, clicking through boring official golf history archives, cross-checking dates and tournament names. Painfully slow.
Finally nailed it. Cleared my head, took a break, came back. Made a simple checklist for each tournament across the whole history of the majors as we know them now. Went through each guy people claimed did it. Phew. Got it sorted. My desk was covered in scribbled notes, empty coffee cups – looked like a crime scene, seriously.
Okay, So Who Actually Did It?
Got my confirmed list finally. Here they are, the absolute legends:
- Gene Sarazen: First guy ever! Did it ages ago.
- Ben Hogan: Tough guy, pulled it off.
- Gary Player: International powerhouse.
- Jack Nicklaus: The Golden Bear, obviously.
- Tiger Woods: The GOAT himself, completed his when he finally snagged that last major he needed.
Five guys total. Seriously, just five! It’s harder than finding a parking spot downtown on game day. Made me really appreciate how crazy hard winning just one major is, never mind all four. These guys are on another planet.
Why am I even messing with old golf stats? Funny thing. Few months back, stress was sky high – work deadlines, just life being life, y’know? Ended up watching golf highlights late one night. Saw Tiger win that Masters comeback. Something clicked. Watching these guys conquer impossible odds… felt motivating. Started reading more about them, their careers, the insane pressure they faced. This whole research rabbit hole? Kinda started from that feeling. Realizing how rare that Grand Slam achievement is just made it hit harder. Makes you look at your own problems a bit differently, weirdly. Less “this is impossible,” more “what’s the next shot?”
