The Masters: Jack Nicklaus advises Rory McIlroy to banish Grand Slam thoughts
Thursday 11 April 2019 18:20, UK
Jack Nicklaus has urged Rory McIlroy to focus solely on winning the Masters and not on joining the exclusive Grand Slam major winners club.
McIlroy is making his fifth attempt to become only the sixth man in history to win all four of golf's major championships, with the Masters the only one to elude him so far after a couple of close calls, most notably his back-nine meltdown in 2011 when he began the final day with a four-shot lead and shot 80.
The 29-year-old was again well placed to challenge 12 months ago when he was three shots behind Patrick Reed and playing with the American in the final group on Sunday, but he was unable to put the pressure on his Ryder Cup rival and stumbled to a closing 74.
Many experts feel the weight of added pressure and expectation on McIlroy has taken its toll, and Nicklaus believes he needs to concentrate just on how best to combat Augusta National rather than be distracted by the prospect of emulating the legendary quintet of Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tiger Woods.
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Speaking at his press conference with Player following their ceremonial opening tee shots, Nicklaus said: "I think if I were in Rory's position, I would be looking at trying to win the Masters, not trying to finish a Grand Slam.
"I think to win the Masters, that's enough to worry about. Rory is playing probably better than anybody is playing right now, at least from what I have seen. He's doing very well, and I hope he's got himself focused on basically the Masters Tournament.
"And if he wins the Masters Tournament, one of the rewards from winning the Masters Tournament would be that he would be one of the six players to have won the Grand Slam."
Player added: "As far as Rory's concerned, pressure is self‑embracing, and it comes back to the mind. Whether he wins or not this week, he has the best swing in the field without a question.
"I remember Tiger saying, 'You think I'm talented? This guy has got even more talent.' Well, I don't know whether that's true or not, but he certainly has an enormous amount of talent, and he hits the ball prodigious distances, which is perfect for this golf course because this is not really what you'd call a great driving golf course, there's room.
"So the talent is all there. And, I don't know what Jack's total was for his six wins here, but my three wins was $80,000. I'd love to be playing for a $2m first prize. I wouldn't be nervous, at all!"
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