Jack Nicklaus knows a thing or two about the Masters — after all, he’s won the major more than anyone else, victoriously slipping on the green jacket six times.
So what does Nicklaus think it takes to go back to back at Augusta National?
“Well, the key obviously is to win two years in a row,” Nicklaus said, tongue in cheek, on Thursday morning. “That’s the first thing. I think Rory is the only one that’s got a chance to do that this year.”
The 86-year-old was sitting in the Press Building with the tournament’s two other honorary starters — Tom Watson and Gary Player — after they teed off to formally start the first major of the year.
A little over a year ago, Nicklaus had a now-famous lunch with McIlroy at The Bear’s Club, his club, in Jupiter, Florida. There, McIlroy took Nicklaus through his game plan for his 17th Masters start, shot by shot, as he would once again attempt to win that elusive green jacket and become only the sixth man, including Nicklaus, to win the career Grand Slam. When McIlroy was done, Nicklaus didn’t have anything to add. The 18-time major winner told the four-time major winner he wouldn’t change a thing about his game plan.
Then the four-time major winner became a five-time major winner, and well, the rest is history.
That week, Nicklaus, Watson and Player all picked McIlroy to win what felt like the most elusive title of all the elusive titles in the sporting world. In retrospect, it felt like the stars aligned.
If the stars were to align again for McIlroy, he would become just the fourth man in Masters history to go back to back in tournament history, joining Nicklaus ('65, ’66), Nick Faldo ('89, ’90) and Tiger Woods ('01, ’02).
“What is the key to doing it?” Nicklaus repeated the question asked to him Thursday. “I played — when I was here in ’65, I broke a tournament record and shot 271... When we came back the next year, I remember Gary [Player] going to [August National Chairman] Mr. [Clifford] Roberts and saying, ‘Mr. Roberts, the fairways are much longer this year.’ He said, hit nothing but fliers, and the greens are like rocks. And Mr. Roberts said, ‘Well, the greens are cut exactly the same as they were.’
“Well, they weren’t, but that’s what he said...
“Anyway, I shot 288 that year, and I won in a playoff. You had totally different conditions, and that’s what you put up with. If you’re going to win two years in a row, you’ll find conditions you like and maybe you don’t find conditions you like, but you’ve got to adjust to both of those. I was fortunate enough to be able to do that.”
You’ve got to adjust — aka, be flexible. With 29 wins on Tour, you could say McIlroy knows how to do that.
If you think about it, this year is completely different for McIlroy compared to his 17 previous starts at Augusta National. Never again will he arrive and not slip on the green jacket as he takes part in all the pre-tournament festivities. Never again will he pull up Magnolia Lane to see the champions out on the clubhouse balcony, having cocktails as they bask in the glory of the Champions Dinner while he sits awkwardly in his car, wondering how to get out without drawing attention to himself.
In reality, the 36-year-old is No. 2 in the world with a long runway still to play.
“I think Rory is talented enough to be able to play it,” Nicklaus said. “Rory’s got the monkey off his back, and I think he has a very, very good chance to repeat.”