Could a Lunch With Jack Nicklaus Be the Difference for Rory McIlroy at the Masters?

Rory McIlroy has been chasing the Career Grand Slam since April of 2015. He entered the Masters with two straight major championship wins at The Open and PGA Championship. McIlroy finished the week solo fourth, a valiant effort for what was at stake and many believed it was only a matter of time.

Well, it’s been 10 years and he’s still missing a Green Jacket in his closet.

He enters this week’s edition in fantastic form with two wins already on the season: the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and THE PLAYERS Championship. It’s the first time he’s entered the Masters with two wins, so it’s easy to see why he’s one of the favorites.

During their post-Honorary Starters ceremony press conference, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, and Tom Watson all picked the Northern Irishman to get it done Sunday afternoon.

After making his pick, Nicklaus, a six-time Masters champion himself, told the media he had lunch with McIlroy last week and went over his entire strategy on how he plans to attack the greatest golf course in the world.

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“I think it's about time that Rory won,” he said. “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.’

“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."

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“The discipline to do that is—the discipline is what Rory has lacked, in my opinion. He's got all the shots. He's got all the game. He certainly is as talented as anybody in the game. But if you look, 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. I'm a big fan of Rory's and I like Rory a lot, so that's what I think.”

We’ll see if a lunch alongside the Golden Bear is what gets McIlroy over the hump and into the sleeves of the most coveted prize in golf.