The stars could align for Scottie Scheffler at Shinnecock Hills this week, with the 29-year-old able to complete the final leg of his career Grand Slam and become only the seventh player in history to do so, should he claim victory at the US Open.
He would also achieve the historic feat on his 30th birthday, no less.
Scheffler, to put it mildly, has experienced an indifferent season on the PGA Tour in 2026. He has struggled to live up to the high standards he has set in the past two years, but it would be a brave person to rule the world No 1 out this week, particularly given what is at stake.
For the four-time major winner, who has a whopping 20 victories on the PGA Tour, it has largely been a case of when, not if, he fulfils his destiny and joins Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Gene Sarazen and Ben Hogan in the illustrious career Grand Slam club, after the two-time Masters champion won the PGA Championship and The Open in 2025.
Scheffler began 2026 in emphatic fashion, securing a four-shot victory at The American Express in January, suggesting this year would be business as usual.
Since then, the American's performances have been solid but a far cry from his dominance over the past two years. Scheffler won six times on the PGA Tour in 2025 and eight times worldwide in 2024 - a year that also saw him win a gold medal at the Paris Olympics.
Questions began to ring over Scheffler's form at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March, where he ended the tournament tied-24th to post his worst finish at a PGA Tour event in 13 months.
Things came to a head at The Players when Scheffler, who finished his week at TPC Sawgrass tied-22nd, admitted he was "frustrated" with his game and pinpointed .
After The Players, Scheffler had fallen from being first for strokes gained in total on the PGA Tour at the end of 2025 to third. His strokes gained in approach had taken a more dramatic slump, with Scheffler plummeting from first to 78th, and this is perhaps where his main issue has been.
Defiantly, he hit back at those who questioned whether he was experiencing a slump in form.
"If you flipped my season around and it was like, I finished 24th last week, 12th, then third and fourth, and a win, would your question be the same?" he said.
"No matter what round of golf you look at, I think there's always something you feel you could do better."
Despite his struggles earlier in the season, the world No 1 rebounded in remarkable fashion, becoming the first player in PGA Tour history to secure three consecutive solo runner-up finishes, a feat he called "bittersweet".
At The Masters, Scheffler surged up the leaderboard to finish one shot behind McIlroy. A week later, at the RBC Heritage, he putted sensationally to take Matt Fitzpatrick to a play-off, but ultimately came up short. In his next event, the Cadillac Championship, he was pipped by Cameron Young, who won by six shots.
"Finishing second hurts, but when you reflect, and you're looking at things to work on, there's a lot less to clean up when you're finishing second than there is when you're finishing 30th," Scheffler said ahead of this year's PGA Championship.
While Scheffler is still not content with certain aspects of his game, there are signs of improvement.
Following The Players, he has bounced back to first for strokes gained in total on the PGA Tour coming into this week's US Open. He has also risen to top the greens-in-regulation rankings, and is now 17th for strokes gained in approach.
Yet, a lack of consistency still dogs his game, and during the first round of this year's Memorial Tournament, he vented his frustrations at his caddie Ted Scott, after sticking an approach shot into the water on the par-three 16th hole.
After carding an even-par 72 on day two, he sensationally claimed he "felt like he was going to shoot about 90", adding he was "hitting the ball the worst I have in a couple of years".
Scheffler improved through the weekend and finished tied-12th on the leaderboard, but after the tournament he opened up on the struggles in his game, explaining: "I just couldn't really get anything going.
"Just little things, little mistakes that I don't typically make, I felt like I was making this week. So a few things to clean up in the off week, but overall, I feel pretty comfortable with where my game's at."
As the age-old saying goes, 'it's you against the course'. And perhaps that could not be truer this week at the very testing Shinnecock Hills, a course with a history of controversy, which has tormented some of the best players in the world when the past two iterations of the US Open were held there in 2004 and 2018.
If the wind is up, Shinnecock Hills can play like a links. Narrow fairways, swirling hills and sticky rough all combine to give players a headache.
"It's one of those courses where there's a ton of space out there, but the areas you have to hit into are quite small," Scheffler said at the Memorial Tournament.
He added: "The greens are going to play really small, especially if they get firm. It should be a really challenging week."
Perhaps, though, for last year's Open champion, one of his biggest threats lies within the field.
The standard of competition on the PGA Tour this season has been exceptional, with Young, McIlroy, Matt Fitzpatrick, Alex Fitzpatrick and Aaron Rai all enjoying fine seasons.
Scheffler is not one to keep an eye on the leaderboard, and while he likes to control what he can on the golf course, there is a case to be made that the world No 1 may need to be vigilant over what the rest of the field are doing, particularly as he has been pipped on three occasions this season.
There is also the matter of his own game. It seems to be trending in the right direction since The Players Championship, but Scheffler has still voiced concerns about ball-striking heading into the week, and will need a fast start on round one to maintain proximity with the leaders.
One thing that will count in his favour is his pedigree of good performances at the US Open and he has come close to winning this tournament before. Scheffler ended last year's event tied-seventh, and his best finish came in 2022, when he placed tied-second, one shot back from winner Matt Fitzpatrick.
The prospect of making history on his 30th birthday on Sunday is something Scheffler is not trying to entertain.
Like every golfer, he dreams of winning a career Grand Slam, but will approach the week not looking past each shot he is presented with.
"Was it pretty awesome watching Rory win the Grand Slam? Of course it was," he said after the 2025 Masters. "But as far as my life goes, I try to stay in the present. I don't think very often about career goals.
"Winning the career Grand Slam, I think that's something that any golfer would dream of, but, at the end of the day, I'm just trying to get the most out of myself. That's about it."
There is no question the 29-year-old has failed to meet his highs of 2024 and 2025. Sustaining a level of dominance across three consecutive seasons is bound to be mentally fatiguing, and so too is dealing with inconsistencies in one's game.
He is world No 1 for a reason, though, and his determination to return to winning ways has seen him improve the aspects of his game that troubled him in March.
And even if his iron play is not up to scratch this week at Shinnecock, it is frightening that Scheffler can lean on other aspects of his game to hoist himself up the leaderboard.
You would not bet against him joining the career Grand Slam club at this week's US Open.
Watch live coverage of the US Open from 12.30pm on Thursday and Friday on Your Site Golf, with action live until at least midnight during both the first two rounds.
Live coverage begins at 3pm for Saturday's third round and 4pm for the final day on Sunday, with the US Open live on Your Site Golf until long after the final putt is holed on both days.
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