January looked good for the Northern Irishman. He finished second at the Dubai Invitational and won the Hero Dubai Desert Classic for a record fourth time. But little did Rory McIlroy know back then that the subsequent starts he would make on the PGA Tour would end in disappointment, only to redeem himself through wins at the Zurich Classic and the Wells Fargo Championship. The initial finishes hinting at a sub-par performance, coupled with his divorce, paint a bleak picture for the pro at the Memorial Tournament. Jack Nicklaus, however, seems to disagree.

The 84-year-old veteran of the sport was spotted in an interview ahead of the event he would be hosting, the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday. The ex-pro went ahead to express his faith in the 4-time major champ, all the while dubbing him a “good enough” athlete to win the upcoming contest.

Jack Nicklaus is all praise for Rory McIlroy

Nicklaus was queried in the press conference, about the possible reason behind the failure of McIlroy and Phil Mickelson to win at the Muirfield Village Golf Club. “Oh, they will win,” replied the veteran of the sport swiftly before adding that’s just how the game of golf goes. He also pointed out the PGA Tour Pro’s track record in the Masters before mentioning, “I remember Rory hasn’t won at Augusta either. Do I think he will? Absolutely, I think he will. He’s too good not to.”

The 2011 U.S. Open champ has made 16 starts at Augusta National, out of which he has made the cut a total of 13 times. The golfer, however, has not managed a single win at the major, with his best finish coming off at the 2022 Masters, where he placed T2. This was also the last time McIlroy raked in a top-10 finish out of a total of seven times.

Nicklaus didn’t stop there. The Golden Bear compared himself to the Northern Irishman before recounting his run at the Canadian Open: “I thought I was good enough to win in Canada and I finished second seven times there, never won there. Barbara kept sending me back, she says, I’m going to send you back until you do it right. Never could do it right.” The 18-time major champ had finished T2 at the event a total of seven times in the years 1965, 1968, 1975, 1976, 1981, 1984, and 1985.

Even though he was unable to win the Canadian Open, the senior golfer was still able to get dubbed as a ‘legend’ on the course owing to his other achievements. This, in turn, clearly paints a hopeful picture for Rory McIlroy, who is currently getting his on-the-course groove back while facing a divorce from his wife, Erica Stoll.

McIlroy files for divorce from Stoll

Just a couple of days before the start of the PGA Championship, the 35-year-old went ahead to get divorced from his wife of 7 years. He did so while filing the documents at a court in Florida while turning to the same attorney who helped fellow PGA Tour Pro Tiger Woods with his divorce, Thomas Sasser.

Sean O’Flaherty, the PGA Tour Pro’s manager, also stated, “Rory McIlroy’s communications team confirmed today that a divorce has been filed. They stressed Rory’s desire to ensure this difficult time is as respectful and amicable as possible.” He said so before emphasizing how the professional wouldn’t be making any further comments regarding the separation.

It does hurt his fans to see the golfer going through a hard time. But if one were to take Nicklaus’s words into consideration, then Rory McIlroy would surely be more than capable of making a victorious return, just like he did at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship.