Rory McIlroy was cruising, then Jack Nicklaus’ warning rang true
AUGUSTA, Ga. — The Golden Bear is aware of a factor or two about Augusta National. In any case, Jack Nicklaus won The Masters six occasions and made 52 begins throughout his illustrious profession.
So when he picked Rory McIlroy to win earlier on Thursday morning, it got here as no shock. Each Gary Participant and Tom Watson picked him to finish the profession Grand Slam, one thing he has been making an attempt to do for 11 years now.
However Nicklaus, who admitted to having a current dialog with McIlroy about easy methods to play the golf course, supplied a warning signal in regards to the present World No. 2.
“The self-discipline is what Rory has lacked, for my part. He’s received all of the pictures. He’s received all the sport. He definitely is as proficient as anyone within the recreation,” Nicklaus cautioned.
“However in the event you look, return and see his historical past the previous few years, he will get to a spot a whole lot of occasions when an eight or a seven pops up, and that retains you from attending to the place he must go.
“I’m a giant fan of Rory’s and I like Rory loads, in order that’s what I believe. However I believe clearly Scottie Scheffler is simply coming again in once more. He’s a defending champion, there’s no one enjoying any higher within the recreation than Scottie. Between the 2 of them, I believe you’re going to search out your winner.”
When McIlroy torched one other drive down the fifteenth fairway, he was 4-under par and in a tie with Scheffler, who already posted a 4-under 68 earlier within the day. One other birdie on 15 regarded believable, and the ‘Rory-Scottie’ show that ESPN’s Curtis Strange predicted regarded to stay as much as the billing, a minimum of via spherical one.
Then McIlroy airmailed the fifteenth inexperienced, which is likely one of the newer surfaces on the course. He laced a 4-iron from 238 yards out, however as a substitute of making an attempt to play a high-fade, which lands softer, he hammered a piercing draw. His method disregarded the fifteenth inexperienced and landed about 10 yards past the floor, in the same location to the place Patrick Cantlay chipped it into the frontside pond moments earlier than.
McIlroy suffered the same fate.
He hammered his chip-shot, which rolled into the water, leaving McIlroy to put in writing down an aggravating ‘seven’ when it ought to have been a 5 at worst.
Two holes later, McIlroy air-mailed his method once more.
And as soon as extra, he hammered his chip-shot 20 ft previous the flag stick after which three-putted for a double-bogey six.
Within the blink of a watch, McIlroy went from presumably enhancing his rating to 5-under to plummeting all the way down to even par for the championship. He signed for a 72.
Nicklaus’ warning got here true.
Jack Milko is a golf workers author for SB Nation’s Enjoying By. Comply with him on X @jack_milko.
