Rory McIlroy Has a "Bear" of a Mentor
Written by Bob Whalon, Sunday June 19 2011
Rory McIlroy just won his first major in impressive fashion by winning the U.S. Open on Sunday, but the 22-year-old phenom might be more excited about something else these days.
It seems that arguably the greatest golfer of all time is McIlroy's biggest fan. Yes, Jack Nicklaus has taken young Rory under his wing as his mentor.
The two met by accident in the parking lot of a shopping mall in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., during the week of the 2009 Honda Classic. It was only McIlroy's second appearance on the PGA Tour, but he had obviously already caught "The Golden Bear's" eye.
Nicklaus spotted McIlroy in a tournament courtesy car and introduced himself. Shortly after that, Nicklaus invited him to use the secluded area at his private Bear's Club. That was the beginning of the 71-year-old Nicklaus' mentorship of young Rory.
At the 2010 Honda Classic Nicklaus invited McIlroy to lunch. "It was an unbelievable experience," McIlroy said.
McIlroy said Nicklaus talked about how you can play your best and still be beaten. "He told me the best he ever played was at the Open in Turnberry in 1977, and yet Tom Watson won," he said.
"I thought that when he got in front, he'd say, 'Right, I'm going to grind these guys down," McIlroy said. "Actually, he said he just waited for everyone else to make mistakes and admitted that he had a lot more majors handed to him than he went out and won. I found that very interesting."
It's no surprise that McIlroy found that interesting after his collapse at Augusta. Nicklaus knows a thing or two about collapses himself. Although he has the most major wins with 18, Nicklaus also finished runner-up 19 times.
The two are now regular lunch buddies and Nicklaus' advice has apparently paid off. "He said there's going to be a lot of pressure on you, but you've got to put a lot of pressure on yourself early," McIlroy said. "That's what he always did. He emphasized so much to me about not making mistakes. That was his big thing."
McIlroy didn't make many mistakes at Congressional and won his first major. He thinks his new mentor's advice had a little to do with that.
"He said to me, 'I'm expecting big things from you,'" McIlroy said. "It's nice pressure knowing that the greatest player ever at the moment thinks that you're going to be pretty good. He said he always put a lot of pressure on himself. He expected to play well. He expected to be up there all the time in a position to win. And he said, 'I expect you to do the same thing."
It seems that the Golden Bear now has his Golden Cub.
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