Jack Nicklaus has won The Masters a record six times and, as a result, Rory McIlroy has sought out his advice on numerous occasions in the past.
McIlroy received advice from Nicklaus just before he completed the career Grand Slam at Augusta National in 2025.
And the 18-time major champion was genuinely delighted to see the Northern Irishman finally win The Masters for the first time last year.
Of course, Rory McIlroy then won The Masters once again this year, becoming only the fourth man to defend his title at Augusta National after Jack Nicklaus in 1966, Tiger Woods in 2002 and Sir Nick Faldo in 1990.
Nicklaus spoke about McIlroy on Tuesday ahead of The Memorial Tournament this week.
An incredibly strong field has gathered for The Memorial, with world number one Scottie Scheffler, current Masters champion Rory McIlroy, and The Players champion Cam Young topping the billing.
Nicklaus famously sat down with McIlroy prior to his first win at Augusta National in 2025. The 18-time major champion also spoke with the 37-year-old before he teed off in the final round of The Masters this year.
What Jack Nicklaus told Rory McIlroy before he teed off on Sunday at The Masters
Nicklaus responded when asked by reporters on Tuesday about how McIlroy’s win at Augusta in April made him feel.
“Well, I was delighted for Rory, obviously,” the Golden Bear said.
“You know, I told you — I mean, I didn’t tell you. We sat down — I think we sat down two years ago, the weekend before the Masters, and had lunch. And I said, ‘Okay, Rory, tell me, how are you going to play the golf course?’ And he says, ‘You want all of it?’ I said, ‘Yeah, give it to me shot for shot’.
“And so Rory went through it shot for shot, and he said, ‘What do you think? ‘And I said, ‘Well, I wouldn’t change a thing. I think it’s exactly the way you should play it’.
“He varied from it one time. He varied from it on the 3rd hole. He said if the pin was left, he was not going to drive it, but he would drive it every other time.
“Well, he drove it on Sunday on that and put it right at the base of the hill and made birdie. But he gave himself a chance to make more than that. But that birdie probably won the tournament for him that first year.
“And so this year, I saw him on the practice tee just before he was teeing off, and why he was out there that early — because I was getting ready to go to the first tee to do our opening, and I put my hands on his shoulders, and I said to him, ‘No effing double bogeys’.
“So anyway, he had Amanda Balionis and she did an interview, and she said, ‘What did he say to you?’ And he repeated what I had said to him.
“I think that’s the key to it. The key for him was not to make double bogeys. He did end up making a couple the last couple rounds, but he didn’t make any the first two rounds. So I was very happy for Rory. I was delighted for him.
“I’ve been a big Rory fan. Now he’s only got one thing left on his resume that he really needs to have and that’s to win here. So you tell him that he’s got to do that.“
Jack Nicklaus suggests why Rory McIlroy has never won The Memorial
Nicklaus was asked by one journalist on Tuesday why he believes McIlroy is still yet to win The Memorial Tournament.
“Well, I don’t know. Maybe because he hasn’t asked me. I don’t know. (Laughing),” Nicklaus responded.
“No, I don’t know. You know, I think that this golf course is a golf course that really requires patience. I mean, I was talking earlier to Kris Reitan — is that his name? Is that how you pronounce it? Yeah, I was talking with him about it, and he asked me about the golf course a little bit, and I said, ‘Kris, it’s a golf course — I didn’t design it for big hitters, didn’t design it for short hitters, didn’t design it for the middle. I tried to design it so we could take care of everybody and try to give a fair shake to every kind of player’.
“And when you get that, you can’t just stand up and just whack away at it on every hole. I tried that in my early years. I didn’t do very well.
“So it’s a golf course that takes a little bit of patience and learning. The golf course plays better — I think plays better playing left-to-right. But that’s the way I played, so that’s the way I would think.
“It’s a golf course that plays better in the air. The greens really require a little bit of elevation a lot of times to keep the ball in play. I never played with spin. I played with trajectory, not spin. I think spin gets you in a little bit of trouble.
“Some of our greens here, if you take 3, 6, 9, 10, 14, 15, 17, and 18, too much spin is — if you spin the ball off of those greens, what happens? Not a good result. And I never played that way. I always tried to play — because I found out that I can spin the ball just like anybody else can spin the ball.
“Any of these guys can do anything they want. So you start playing more with trajectory. So those are the things I think you have to learn on this golf course.“