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AUGUSTA, Ga. — All Jack Nicklaus needed was to hear Rory McIlroy's game plan for the Masters over lunch to be convinced McIlroy is positioned to complete the career Grand Slam.
"I sat down with Rory last week and we had lunch, and we were talking, and I said, 'Rory, I know you prepared for Augusta; tell me how you're going to play the golf course,' " Nicklaus, the North Palm Beach resident said, Thursday. Nicklaus and McIlroy live about seven miles from each other.
"We went through it shot for shot. And he got done with the round, and I didn't open my mouth. And I said, 'Well, I wouldn't change a thing. That's exactly the way I would try to play the golf course.' He's got all the shots. He's got all the game. He certainly is as talented as anybody in the game."
Nicklaus is not the only one who believes McIlroy will win his first Masters and fifth major this weekend.
Gary Player and Tom Watson, who along with Nicklaus served as the honorary starters Thursday morning for the year's first major, also picked McIlroy.
Nicklaus, Player and Watson have combined to win 11 Masters championships.
"I think Rory McIlroy will win the Masters this year, and I hope he does because it would give golf a great boost to have another winner of the Grand Slam," said Player, who lives on Jupiter Island.
"He went to Jack for advice on how to play this golf course. Nobody knows better than Jack. And I think timing in life, he's had his adversities, his opportunities to win majors and let them slip. I think it's just the right time for him to win now. The golf course … there's no golf course that suits a man better than it does for Rory."
Said Watson: "I just have a gut feeling that Rory is the guy that's going to win this week. That's the bottom line. That's my gut feeling."
After saying he agreed with Player and Watson and "it's about time that Rory won," Nicklaus also dropped the name of the No. 1 golfer in the world and defending champion.
"I think obviously Scottie Scheffler is just coming back in again, he's a defending champion, there's nobody playing any better in the game than Scottie," Nicklaus said. "Between the two of them, I think you're going to find your winner."
Nicklaus' only hesitation on McIlroy, who has an 11-year drought since his last major championship, is his discipline.
"The discipline is what Rory has lacked in my opinion," Nicklaus said. "If you go back and see his history the last few years, he gets to a place a lot of times an 8 or a 7 pops up, and that keeps you from getting to where he needs to go.
"But I'm a big fan of Rory's and I like Rory a lot."
Tom D'Angelo is a senior sports columnist and reporter for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Tom Watson believe Rory McIlroy will win Masters
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"I sat down with Rory last week and we had lunch, and we were talking, and I said, 'Rory, I know you prepared for Augusta; tell me how you're going to play the golf course,' " Nicklaus, the North Palm Beach resident said, Thursday. Nicklaus and McIlroy live about seven miles from each other.
"We went through it shot for shot. And he got done with the round, and I didn't open my mouth. And I said, 'Well, I wouldn't change a thing. That's exactly the way I would try to play the golf course.' He's got all the shots. He's got all the game. He certainly is as talented as anybody in the game."
Nicklaus is not the only one who believes McIlroy will win his first Masters and fifth major this weekend.
Gary Player and Tom Watson, who along with Nicklaus served as the honorary starters Thursday morning for the year's first major, also picked McIlroy.
Nicklaus, Player and Watson have combined to win 11 Masters championships.
"I think Rory McIlroy will win the Masters this year, and I hope he does because it would give golf a great boost to have another winner of the Grand Slam," said Player, who lives on Jupiter Island.
"He went to Jack for advice on how to play this golf course. Nobody knows better than Jack. And I think timing in life, he's had his adversities, his opportunities to win majors and let them slip. I think it's just the right time for him to win now. The golf course … there's no golf course that suits a man better than it does for Rory."
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Said Watson: "I just have a gut feeling that Rory is the guy that's going to win this week. That's the bottom line. That's my gut feeling."
After saying he agreed with Player and Watson and "it's about time that Rory won," Nicklaus also dropped the name of the No. 1 golfer in the world and defending champion.
Jack Nicklaus also likes Scottie Scheffler as Masters pick
"I think obviously Scottie Scheffler is just coming back in again, he's a defending champion, there's nobody playing any better in the game than Scottie," Nicklaus said. "Between the two of them, I think you're going to find your winner."
Nicklaus' only hesitation on McIlroy, who has an 11-year drought since his last major championship, is his discipline.
"The discipline is what Rory has lacked in my opinion," Nicklaus said. "If you go back and see his history the last few years, he gets to a place a lot of times an 8 or a 7 pops up, and that keeps you from getting to where he needs to go.
"But I'm a big fan of Rory's and I like Rory a lot."
Tom D'Angelo is a senior sports columnist and reporter for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Tom Watson believe Rory McIlroy will win Masters
Continue reading...
