Augusta, Ga. – The three honorary starters of the three masters chose Rory McILroy to win Thursday morning – and Jack Nicklaus may have had the best insight of all.
Nicklaus revealed that he was sitting for lunch with McILroy last week in southern Florida to go into a blow for how McILroy would play Augusta National.
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“And he finished with the round, and I didn’t open his mouth,” said Nicklaus. “I said,” Well, I wouldn’t change anything. This is exactly how I would try to play on the golf course. »»
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It was not the first time that Nicklaus, a champion of masters six times, advised McILroy when he tried to capture the last elusive stage of the big career slam.
But this year feels different, with McILroy, for the first time, winning twice on the PGA Tour before the first major of the year. He also directs the toured stroke won: Total, which takes into account all statistical categories.
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“The discipline is what Rory missed in my opinion,” said Nicklaus. “He has all the shots. He has all the game. He is certainly as talented as anyone in the game. But if you look back, go back and see his story in recent years, he arrives at a place often that an 8 or 7 appears, and that prevents you from going where he needs to go.”
In Nicklaus de Nicklaus, McILroy has shot 76 or more in at least one round three of the last four years. In 2022, he rebounded after a start of 73-73 to finish alone in the second.
Tom Watson said he had a “intestinal feeling” that it would be the year of McILroy.
Adding Gary Player: “He went to Jack to get advice on how to play this golf course. No one knows better than Jack. And I think the timing in life, he had his adversities, his opportunities to save majors and let them slide. I think his time is just. It’s just the right time for him to win now.”
