Why Rory McIlroy was once so impressed with what Jack Nicklaus told him, ‘The mental strength…’

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Rory McIlroy is one of the modern day greats of golf but when it comes to Jack Nicklaus, even McIlroy would admit he’s not hit his heights just yet.

McIlroy might have finally added his name to the list of grand slam winners in golf – which includes Nicklaus – but The Golden Bear’s 18 majors to McIlroy’s five are an obvious observation.

Nevertheless, such is the stature and greatness of Nicklaus, that over the years he’s been more than giving with his time, including towards McIlroy.

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Indeed, looking back to a chat the duo had ahead of the US Open in 2014, McIlroy explained what Nicklaus had told him he did when he was having a bad round.

When Jack Nicklaus told Rory McIlroy he’d make a swing change mid-round

Most golfers are very much set in their swing thoughts these days and while we do see some players searching for things through a season, it’s not often we see it mid-tournament.

But most aren’t Jack Nicklaus.

And speaking back in 2014, Rory McIlroy revealed how Nicklaus had actually told him he’d sometimes make a swing change there and then during a tournament.

“‘How the hell can you shoot 63 and then 78?”’ McIlroy revealed Nicklaus had said to him.

“I said, ‘I wasn’t meaning to, Jack. I’m not trying to.’ He said to me he was never afraid to change things up in the middle of a round if it wasn’t going well, if he felt like he wasn’t swinging well. He’d make a swing change right then and there.

“The mental strength to be able to do that and trust what you’re doing. But I had a great conversation with Jack and I feel very honoured that I’m able to call him up for advice, if I need to. And he’s been very generous with his time. Some of the things he said to me, I’m really thinking about going into this week.

“He was a great U.S. Open player and hopefully some of those little nuggets of wisdom that he passed on to me might help this week.”

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What happened at the 2014 US Open

The 2014 US Open was a tough old tournament and only three players actually came home under par.

The winner, Martin Kaymer, actually finished at nine under, some eight shots clear of nearest rival Erik Compton.

As for McIlroy after his little pep talk with Nicklaus, well, it wasn’t all bad. He finished at six over par but that was still enough for a top 25 finish, with McIlroy finishing up in T23.

As we know, McIlroy won the US Open himself all the way back in 2011 to get his major winning run off to a start. Since then, he’s failed to win the event again, albeit he came agonisingly close at the 2024 event at Pinehurst when Bryson DeChambeau beat him in dramatic fashion.