What Jack Nicklaus told Rory McIlroy he needed to do to win at Augusta which he may finally have cracked nine years later, but there’s a big catch

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Jack Nicklaus has won all there is to win in the game, but his most successful stomping ground was Augusta National.

Six of the Golden Bear’s 18 major championships were won at the famed Augusta National.

Jack Nicklaus knows all there is to know about the rolling fairways and sloping greens wedged in amongst the spectacular Georgia pines and blooming azaleas.

Rory McIlroy would love to emulate Nicklaus’s outstanding record at The Masters, but one green jacket would do him just fine, make no mistake about that.

• READ MORE: Phil Mickelson names LIV Golfer who Augusta is a ‘great course’ for ahead of The Masters, calls him an ‘incredible’ ball striker

Jack Nicklaus and Rory McIlroy have often been compared, with the two players sharing a similar top five percentage ratio in major championships.

Nicklaus obviously has the edge over McIlroy when it comes to wins though, as he does over everyone else who has ever played the game in all fairness.

What Jack Nicklaus told Rory McIlroy he needed to do to win at Augusta

Back in 2016, McIlroy headed to Augusta with dreams of joining the extremely exclusive Grand Slam club.

Only five players have ever won all four major championships – Nicklaus, Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player and Tiger Woods.

McIlroy failed to win the Masters in 2016 – he ended up in a tie for 10th.

And amazingly, nine years later, he is still searching for that ever elusive green jacket.

Maybe 2025 will be his year. The evidence certainly suggests that this year could be the Northern Irishman’s time in the Georgia sun.

In 2016, Nicklaus explained what McIlroy needed to do in order to win around Augusta National, as quoted by The Telegraph:

“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.”

Well, the good news for McIlroy is that he has improved greatly on the greens this year, in every single statistical category.

He is 11th in the standings for putts per GIR with 1.7, 12th in strokes gained from putting, currently at +0.593, fourth in one-putt percentage – 46.11% and 13th in the putts per round category, with 28 (PGA Tour official website).

Compare those numbers to his last five years out on tour.

Rory McIlroy’s putting has improved, but there is a big catch

We all know that the 35-year-old has made big strides on the greens recently with the help of Brad Faxon.

One of the best putters of all-time, Faxon has tried to change the way in which Rory approaches his putts.

He has got him into a more reactive and athletic mindset, rather than his previous, far more mechanical way of doing things, and it seems to be working.

However, how will McIlroy’s putting stroke hold up under intense pressure in a major championship?

Well, judging by the most recent evidence we have in that regard, not very well…

Back in June 2024, McIlroy seemed destined to win the US Open at Pinehurst.

However, he missed two putts inside three feet in his final three holes, allowing Bryson DeChambeau to win his second US Open trophy.

A few weeks after his failed attempt to win America’s national championship, the Ulsterman explained how he missed the short putt on the final green because it had so much break to it.

He looked back and saw that DeChambeau was in trouble on the left. He wanted to hit his putt firm but knew that if his ball missed the hole, it could have wandered eight feet past the hole, with any kind of pace on it.

McIlroy was desperate not to three-putt and hand the championship to his rival in the process.

That’s why he hit it so softly whilst playing a huge amount of break. It could be argued that that approach sums up the mentality that has held him back in majors over the past decade.

And it remains to be seen whether his improved putting will stand up at Augusta National for the 89th edition of The Masters.

However, it must be said that the 35-year-old’s all-round game has looked in tip shop shape this season.

Jack Nicklaus told Rory McIlroy exactly what he needed to do to win around Augusta, and the signs are definitely looking good heading into golf’s showpiece event next week.