It has been accomplished just twice in the 107-year hosting of the Crown Australian Open.
Rory McIlroy will attempt to create another slice of golfing history later this week should he succeed at Royal Melbourne and, if so, he will join Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus winning the Australian Open as a reigning Grand Slam champion *.
Earlier this year the golf world celebrated McIlroy climbing to the pinnacle in golf with his Grand Slam triumph at the Masters albeit achieving the effort 14 years after his first major success whereas it took Player and Nicklaus a respective six years and three years to be winners of the four majors.
Player became the first of the duo to win the Grand Slam in 1965 and in his fourth of nine major wins at the appropriate 65th hosting of 1965 US Open, his only success in the championship.
CAN RORS NOW MATCH JACK & GARY ..
Should @McIlroyRory this week’s @AusOpenGolf he’ll join Gary Player & @jacknicklaus as a third reigning Grand Slam champ to achieve the feat
Read: https://t.co/2jcAirz28d
✅ @TOURMISS @Record_Sport (Bernie ) pic.twitter.com/RMUSz0DwlN
— Fatiha (@TOURMISS) December 1, 2025
The South African travelled to Australia later that year having already captured three of seven Australian Open titles – 1958, 1962 and 1963 – when he teed-up in the 1965 Australian Open and winning by an impressive six shots over Nicklaus and Aussie Frank Phillips in Adelaide.
It was this 1965 Australian Open triumph that Player won a fourth occasion and on his only visit ‘Down Under’ as a reigning Grand Slam winner.
Player’s fondness for Australia continued in capturing the country’s premier event in 1969, 1970 and 1974.
Nicklaus’ Australian Open success as a then Grand Slam winner was in 1978 and in what was technically the third occasion in his career he won the coveted Grand Slam.
The Golden Bear first shone as a Grand Slam winner in 1966 – 1962 PGA Championship, 1963 Masters and PGA Championship and 1966 Open Championship.
Nicklaus was a second Grand Slam in 1970 – Masters 1965, US Open 1967, 1970 Open Championship and PGA Championship 1971.
He succeeded in a third Grand Slam in 1978 – Masters 1966, US Open 1972, US Open 1973 and Open Championship 1978.
When Nicklaus lifted the Claret Jug in those emotional scenes on the 18th green at St, Andrews it was also the year he won a sixth and closing Australian Open it also was in 1978, winning by eight shots over fellow American Ben Crenshaw at The Australian Club in Sydney.
Now after joining three living Grand Slam winners, we’ll see if the 2013 Australian Open winning McIlroy can this week emulate two of them in Player and Nicklaus in joining what is currently only a two golfer membership club.
If so, maybe it’s something that could be raised as a conversation topic when McIlroy hosts dinner at next year’s Masters.
FOOTNOTE …
The figure of two reigning Grand Slam winners who have won an Australian Open could have been three given Gene Sarazen, and golf’s original Grand Slam champ achieving the effort with his 1935 Masters success and a year before his only Australian Open triumph in 1936 in Melbourne.
* (In referring to Grand Slam we refer here to winning the four individual majors for a first occasion ala McIlroy whereas Tiger Woods won what is referred to as the ‘Tiger Slam’, winning the four majors consecutively.)
