Sir Nick Faldo is adamant that he told everyone exactly what would happen with Rory McIlroy 10 years back.
English legend Sir Nick Faldo knows exactly what it takes to win The Masters around the rolling hills of Augusta National.
He has three green jackets to his name, and his total major haul of six puts him tied 12th on the all-time list, alongside Lee Trevino and Phil Mickelson.
Meanwhile, Rory McIlroy has been stuck on four majors since 2014.
The 35-year-old Ulsterman has not won a major since the 2014 PGA Championship, and he is still in pursuit of the ever elusive Masters title – one that would see him join the Grand Slam club.
Now Nick Faldo has weighed into Rory’s current situation. The 67-year-old is not scared of sharing controversial takes.
He has made a career out of it in fact, since he hung up his clubs!
Sir Nick Faldo suggested that LIV players have gone soft earlier this week, and now he has made a quite incredible claim about McIlroy.
Sir Nick Faldo warned people what might happen to Rory McIlroy 10 years ago
Back in 2014, not many people would have predicted that McIlroy would still be searching for his fifth major in 2025.
It certainly seems like getting across the line for the fifth time has become somewhat of a mental obstacle for him now.
Faldo was speaking on Sky Sports on Thursday, and shared what he told the media about Rory way back in 2015:
“I remember being asked, like Jack was 10 years ago, I said to the media, ‘He’s either going to be really disappointed getting to 10 majors or he will be static getting to five. You don’t just roll off a log and win a major.
“And now 10 years gone by, he was right there at Pinehurst, which must have been brutal. That just shows you how fragile they are, one minute you’re leading a major and then you do something like that.
“What attitude to you come in here with. Do you try to go happy go lucky, or do you go Monte Carlo or bust, or do you put blinkers on head down? Or do you set a score?
“I would say Monte Carlo or bust wouldn’t work here, because you’ve got to plot your way around. I would personally put the blinkers on, head down. Once you’re on the golf course, get in your bubble.
This game is physical, technical and mental. He’s got the other two locked out, and it’s just the mental strength, the mental strength of finishing it off, I’m just not sure. If it was that easy to flip the switch, he would have done it 10 years earlier.”
Jack Nicklaus knows what Rory McIlroy has to do to win The Masters
The great Jack Nicklaus is a big fan of McIlroy.
He has always been a huge supporter of the Northern Irishman’s career.
Back in 2016 Nicklaus shared that he is convinced McIlroy will win The Masters one day, if he putts well:
“He hits the ball so long and he drives the ball pretty darn straight. Rory’s thing with Augusta is he has to make putts. If you don’t make putts here you can’t win. These are the most difficult set of greens on Tour.”
It remains to be seen whether the flat stick behaves itself for the four-time major winner at Augusta National this week.
As things stand though, it seems like Sir Nick Faldo’s prediction about Rory McIlroy was absolutely spot on.
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