All the History Rory McIlroy Could Make If He Wins the PGA Championship

Rory McIlroy didn’t start his 2026 PGA Championship on a strong note. He finished 4-over on Thursday, using one abysmal word to describe his round. However, since then, he followed it up with a 3-under round on Friday and a 4-under round on Saturday to put him in contention for the second major of the year.

Ahead of his tee time in Sunday’s final round, McIlroy sits tied for seventh at 3-under, three strokes back from leader Alex Smalley. There’s quite a few golfers in a position to win on Sunday, but McIlroy set himself up nicely for a chance at capturing his second major of the year.

If the Irishman hoists the Wanamaker Trophy up on Sunday evening, then he will join an elite group of golfers to win the first two majors of the year. The win would also make McIlroy the first golfer in a few other categories to accomplish specific feats in recent memory. Here’s a look at all the history McIlroy could make if he wins the PGA Championship this year.

Golfers to win the first two majors of the year

If McIlroy wins the PGA Championship after already winning the Masters last month, he’d become just the ninth golfer in history to start off the grand slam season capturing the first two majors. He’d also be just the fifth golfer to do so in the past 70 years. Here’s a look at the other legends who accomplished this feat, with the most recent golfer to do so being Jordan Spieth in 2015 when he won the Masters and U.S. Open.

Golfer	Year	Tournaments
Bobby Jones	1930	U.S. Open, Open Championship
Sam Snead	1949	Masters, PGA Championship
Ben Hogan	1951, ‘53	Masters, U.S. Open
Jack Burke Jr.	1956	Masters, PGA Championship
Arnold Palmer	1960	Masters, U.S. Open
Jack Nicklaus	1972	Masters, U.S. Open
Tiger Woods	2002	Masters, U.S. Open
Jordan Spieth	2015	Masters, U.S. Open

Ben Hogan is the only golfer to win the first two majors twice in his career.

Golfers to win back-to-back majors since 2000

Winning back-to-back majors in general is a tough feat to accomplish, especially nowadays. The last person to do this was Spieth back in 2015. McIlroy would join this list for the second time in his career if he wins the PGA Championship on Sunday. Here’s a look at the golfers who won consecutive major titles since 2000.

Golfer	Year	Tournaments
Jordan Spieth	2015	Masters, U.S. Open
Rory McIlroy	2014	Open Championships, PGA Championship
Padraig Harrington	2008	Open Championships, PGA Championship
Tiger Woods	2006	Open Championships, PGA Championship
Phil Mickelson	2005–06	2005 PGA Championship, ‘06 Masters
Tiger Woods	2002	Masters, U.S. Open
Tiger Woods	2000–01	2000 U.S. Open, Open Championships, PGA Championship, ‘01 Masters

Tiger Woods has accomplished back-to-back majors multiple times in his storied career, including being the only golfer to win four majors in a row during the 2000 into ‘01 seasons. That was deemed the “Tiger Slam.”

McIlroy previously won back-to-back majors in 2014 when he captured the British Open title and the PGA Championship. Those were his last two major titles he won until he finally completed his career grand slam at the Masters in 2025.

Most career major titles won by a European

McIlroy has won six majors in his career, and capturing the PGA Championship on Sunday would make it his seventh. He would tie Harry Vardon for the most majors won by a European if he is victorious on Sunday. To emphasize how historic this would be, Vardon won his seven majors from 1896–1914. It’s a record that’s been held for over a century. McIlroy has a good chance of eventually breaking this long-standing record in his career, too, especially if he keeps up the winning pace he’s been on the past two seasons.

Worst 18-hole position to winner in a major

After McIlroy’s first round score of 74, he sat tied for 105th on the leaderboard. That would be quite the jump up if he ends up winning on Sunday. He would then officially hold the record for the worst 18-hole position to winner in a major tournament as the previous record was held by Steve Jones, who started tied for 84th at the U.S. Open and then won in 1996.

McIlroy will be looking to etch his name in the golf history books in more ways than one if can capture a victory at Aronimink Golf Club.

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