Rory McIlroy assessed after first round of The Masters: 'Jack Nicklaus was right about discipline...'

Jack Nicklaus was right. Until Rory McIlroy ever discovers the art of “discipline” at Augusta National, he will never become a Masters champion and complete the career grand slam. 

Nicklaus, 85, the record 18-time major champion and record six-time Masters champion, met McIlroy, 35, for a spot of lunch last week. 

The Golden Bear nodded along approvingly as the four-time major champion told him exactly how he planned to plot his way around the tall pines and azaleas of Augusta National. 

While Nicklaus does agree McIlroy is the man everyone has to beat this week, he did leave us one question mark and that was whether the Northern Irishman had finally become disciplined enough to truly master Augusta National. 

"The discipline is what Rory has lacked, in my opinion," Nicklaus told the media on the eve of the 89th edition of The Masters. 

"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 look, go back and see his history the last few years, he gets to a place a lot of times, an eight or a seven pops up, and that keeps you from getting to where he needs to go. I'm a big fan of Rory's and I like Rory a lot, so that's what I think."

Case in point summarised perfectly on Thursday April 10 when McIlroy once again stumbled on Georgia’s hallowed turf after what at one stage looked like being his greatest ever start at The Masters. 

Thursday was a first round that looked and felt different for McIlroy. For 13 holes at least, it was calm, it was composed, it was collected. Everything appeared to have been going to script, or at least what had been written on the back of the lunch tab McIlroy picked up for Nicklaus last week. 

Even those in the Sky Sports Golf commentary box were getting giddy about McIlroy’s date with destiny this Sunday. “This is just a different Rory McIlroy out there today,” said a beaming Irishman Paul McGinley as McIlroy strode down the 14th. “Yeah, this is the best start McIlroy’s ever had to a Masters, it’s just been a really steady start and it’s great to see,” added Nick Dougherty, while Dame Laura Davies all-but cemented McIlroy as this week’s Masters champion on what she had seen for the first two-thirds of the first round. 

After sending in a beautiful wedge shot to five feet on the par-4 14th, which would have moved McIlroy into outright second on 5-under par, the Ulsterman under-read his putt and tapped in for par. 

McIlroy then split the fairway down the par-5 15th to leave himself an iron into the green. He then went long with his approach shot finding the giant fairway run-off at the back of the green. It was a disciplined shot though in the sense he had taken the water out of play.

But it sadly all went wrong from there, and I honestly have no idea what he trying to do with his third shot. McGinley tried to save McIlroy's blushes in the comms box by saying his poor resulting pitch shot was down to him having to wait for his playing partner Akshay Bhatia to faff around in the penalty area, but come on, it was just a shocking chip that ultimately ruined his first round. Discipline Rory, discipline...

McIlroy clearly wanted to take the water out of play with his second shot, so why even bother bringing water into play with the third shot? That chip should have been going 20 feet short of the pin and nowhere beyond the hole where it all rolls off into the water. Instead McIlroy got too aggressive chasing a birdie - no doubt frustrated by having missed his short birdie attempt on 14 - and his ball sailed into the water to the groans of the patrons. It all added up to one of those doubles that Nicklaus urged him to stop making at Augusta National.  

Understandably deflated at throwing two shots away from nowhere, McIlroy then came up shy of the pin on the 16th and it led to a par. He would find the first cut on the par-4 17th, but caught a bit of a flier and sailed his ball to the one place you just can’t go at 17 and over the green. McIlroy then hit a clumsy chip to 35 feet and then an even clumsier putt to five feet past the hole, and he missed the return. It all added up to one of those doubles that Nicklaus urged him to stop making at Augusta National.  

Those attacking-minded shots at both 15 and 17 were so avoidable. In my mind at least, there was no need for McIlroy to chase since he was already in a tie for second place at the time and after all, it was the first round. I'd completely understand if this was the back nine on Sunday where you have to hunt down birdies. But this was only ever a day where you could lose The Masters, not win it. McIlroy should have just played safe and taken his pars en route to a solid opening 4-under 68. But instead it all added up to a level-par 72, leaving him T27 after day one and seven shots off the pace currently set by England's Justin Rose. 

Only twice in 17 appearances at The Masters now has McIlroy broken 70 in the first round. That is quite simply not good enough, and potentially McIlroy's chances of a first Green Jacket up in smoke already this week. That's because the last 19 Masters champions, and 72 of the 88 all-time winners, have all been inside the top 11 after the opening round. 

McIlroy's head was gone after the round, so much so he chose not to speak with the media - something he also did when throwing away the U.S. Open to Bryson DeChambeau last June. He also earlier in the week defended Collin Morikawa for shunning the media at Bay Hill last month, confirming he owes nobody anything until the rules and regulations are changed on the PGA Tour.

But McIlroy's silence says it all and he knows the first round of the 2025 Masters completely got away from him. I actually think this first round could even rival his disappointment of when he threw away a four-shot lead in the final round and shot 80 in the final round of the 2011 Masters. I say that in the sense McIlroy had his ball on a piece of string for two-thirds of his opening round on Thursday, and a 72 was just never on the cards. 

Of course there is still time to recover, but my fear is that disciplined golf might not be the answer now given McIlroy looks on from seven shots behind in the middle of the pack. He might have to go all out and attack everything now, especially with the likes of World No.1 and defending champion Scottie Scheffler and his European Ryder Cup teammate Ludvig Aberg both sitting in a tie for second. With fairly calm conditions expected at Augusta National for the rest of the week, McIlroy will know birdies are the order of play if he's to haul himself back into contention for The Masters and complete the career grand slam this Sunday. Perhaps an urgent Friday morning breakfast meeting with Mr. Nicklaus will be called, who knows?! 

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