Every year, the Masters winner is the only golfer who has a chance to win the single-season Grand Slam, taking all four majors -- the Masters, US Open, British Open Championship and PGA Championship -- in the same year. In 2018, that player is Patrick Reed, and he's got a great chance to win a US Open to add to his Masters green jacket.
However, winning the Masters and US Open in the same year is rare. For starters, the Masters began in 1934, and the US Open began in 1895. Second, both tournaments are difficult to win for very different reasons, with one played on a familiar, picture-perfect golf club in Augusta National, and the other played in extremely penal, difficult conditions on a rotating course.
Despite the difficulty, some golfers have managed to win the Masters and the US Open in the same year. The last player to win the Masters and US Open in the same year is Jordan Spieth, who did the double in 2015 at Augusta National and first-time US Open host Chambers Bay. Spieth became the sixth golfer to win the Masters and the US Open in the same year.
Here are the other five golfers to win the Masters and US Open in the same year:
- Tiger Woods -- 2002 (US Open at Bethpage Black, N.Y.)
- Jack Nicklaus -- 1972 (Pebble Beach Golf Links, Calif.)
- Arnold Palmer -- 1960 (Cherry Hills Golf Club, Colo.)
- Ben Hogan -- 1953 (Oakmont Country Club, Penn.)
- Ben Hogan -- 1951 (Oakland Hills Country Club, Mich.)
- Craig Wood -- 1941 (Colonial Country Club, Texas)
Of course, after 2018, winning the Masters and the US Open in the same year will take on a new meaning. With the PGA Championship moving to May and becoming the second major of the year, winning the Masters and the US Open in the same year will mean winning the first and third majors of the season.
