Jack Nicklaus reveals more details of NSFW advice he gave Rory McIlroy before The Masters
Jack Nicklaus has revealed the advice he gave Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy before the 2026 Masters at Augusta National.
Jack Nicklaus has shared details of a private conversation he had with Rory McIlroy minutes before he got his defence of the Masters underway.
McIlroy managed to win the green jacket for the second year in a row in April, becoming only the fourth golfer in history after Nicklaus, Tiger Woods and Sir Nick Faldo to achieve the feat.
The Northern Irishman rode the Augusta National rollercoaster once again and held off a charging Scottie Scheffler to win by one stroke, bringing his haul of major trophies to six.
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McIlroy, 37, later told of how Nicklaus offered him some expletive-laden advice on the putting green before the Golden Bear made his way to the first tee to hit the opening tee shots with honorary starters Tom Watson and Gary Player.
The blunt advice? "No f---ing double bogeys".
Nicklaus revealed further details of his conversation with McIlroy during his annual news conference ahead of the 2026 Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village.
"This year, I saw [McIlroy] on the practice tee just before he was teeing off," Nicklaus said in a press conference before the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village, which Nicklaus is hosting and McIlroy is set to participate in.
"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 double bogeys'.
"The key for him was not to make double bogeys. He did end up making a couple in the last couple of rounds, but he didn't make any the first two rounds.
"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 [at the Memorial Tournament]. You tell him that he's got to do that."
Rory McIlroy ignored own game plan in 2025
McIlroy won his first Masters in 2025 after defeating Justin Rose in a sudden-death play-off.
Nicklaus revealed McIlroy sought his advice two weeks before the tournament.
"We sat down two years ago, the weekend before the Masters, and had lunch," Nicklaus said.
"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. It's exactly the way you should play it.'
Nicklaus added: "He varied from it one time. He varied from it on the third 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."
McIlroy is back in action on the PGA Tour this week after a two-week break.
He is playing the first two rounds of the Memorial alongside Justin Thomas.
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