Jack Nicklaus says ‘it’s about time’ for Rory McIlroy to win the Masters

By Phil Casey, PA Golf Correspondent, Augusta

Honorary starters Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tom Watson all backed Rory McIlroy to triumph at Augusta National after getting the 89th Masters under way on Thursday.

The illustrious trio, with 11 Masters titles between them, hit tee shots on the opening hole before retiring to the clubhouse for their annual press conference.

Asked who they thought would win a coveted green jacket on Sunday, or who they wanted to win, all three nominated world number two McIlroy, who needs to win the Masters to complete a career grand slam.

Nicklaus also revealed that he recently had lunch with McIlroy and gave his seal of approval to the Northern Irishman’s shot-by-shot plan to tackle Augusta National.

“I think it’s about time that Rory won and I sat down with him last week,” Nicklaus said. “I said ‘I know you prepared for Augusta, tell me how you’re going to play the golf course’.

“We went through it shot for shot, we got done with the round, I didn’t open my mouth and I said ‘I wouldn’t change a thing’. That’s exactly the way I would try to play the golf course.

“The discipline to do that 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 go back through his history in the last few years he gets to a place and all of a sudden a seven or an eight pops up and that keeps him from getting where he needs to go.”

McIlroy would join Nicklaus, Player, Ben Hogan, Gene Sarazen and Tiger Woods in having won all four major titles if he wins the Masters, and Player added: “I hope he does, because it will give golf a great boost to have another winner of the grand slam.”

McIlroy was among the later starters on Thursday, with defending champion Scottie Scheffler getting his bid for a third title in four years under way at 1015 local time (1515 BST).

Scheffler is trying to become the first player in Masters history to win the green jacket in three of his first six career starts, while Nicklaus, Woods and Nick Faldo are the only players to have won back-to-back Masters titles.

The world number one missed the start of the season due to surgery on a hand injury suffered while preparing Christmas dinner, but finished second in the Houston Open on his last competitive start.

Scheffler left a long birdie attempt on the first inches short of the hole, but picked up a shot on the par-five second after a superb pitch to three feet.

England’s Aaron Rai was setting the early pace on his Masters debut, birdies on the second, third, seventh and eighth taking him to four under par, a shot ahead of Joaquin Niemann and Stephan Jaeger.

Two-time winner Bernhard Langer was alongside Scheffler on one under after nine holes of his 41st and final competitive appearance at Augusta.