Phil Mickelson will finalise his preparations for a first attempt at completing the 'Lefty Slam' in the FedEx St Jude Classic in Memphis.
Only Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods have won all four major titles in their careers, an exclusive club Mickelson has the chance to join if he wins next week's US Open at Pinehurst.
The 43-year-old's victory in the Open Championship at Muirfield last year means he has completed three legs of a career grand slam after previous wins in the Masters and US PGA Championship.
Only the US Open has eluded him, with a second place to England's Justin Rose at Merion 12 months ago extending his record of runners-up finishes to six. The left-hander's first chance to complete the grand slam will be in his 87th appearance in a major.
Sarazen was the slowest to win his career grand slam, having taken 40 events from 1922 to 1935, compared to 18 for Nicklaus and just 15 for Woods, but he did have the entirely valid excuse of the Masters having only begun in 1934.
Mickelson was joint second behind Harris English at TPC Southwind last year, but he has struggled to find top form so far this season. The five-time major winner has yet to record a top-10 finish in 2014 and missed the cut at the Masters and the Players Championship. The world No.11 is part of a strong field in Tennessee which also includes former champion Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter and Graeme McDowell.
Miguel Angel Jimenez hopes he will have some "home" support at the Diamond Country Club in Austria this week. The Spaniard, 50, moved to Vienna after marrying Austrian Susanne Styblo in Malaga last month, and the pair played together in the pre-tournament pro-am yesterday.
"I'll be playing the US Open next week but Austria is my home now, so I thought the best thing to do was play here; it should be good preparation for the US Open," said Jimenez, who was fourth in the Masters in April. "I married an Austrian girl and it's my home now, but I'm Spanish and my heart is now divided a little bit. One of my sons lives in America, where he is studying, but the other one lives in Malaga.
"I've been hitting the ball very nicely in the pro-am and I'm happy with my game."
Jimenez will again look to become the oldest major champion at Pinehurst next week, having improved his own record as the European Tour's oldest winner with victory in the Spanish Open last month.
Thomas Bjorn, citing neck and shoulder injuries, and Richard Sterne both withdrew from the US Open yesterday citing fitness concerns.
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