Weeks After Tiger Woods’ Special Gesture, Jack Nicklaus Follows Suit in Extending a Helping Hand to Rory McIlroy

World No. 3 Rory McIlroy entered the final round of the Memorial Tournament tied for the lead. The Northern Irishman, who has had an up-and-down year so far, appeared to have set his eyes on his first tournament win since January’s Dubai Desert Hero Classic.

However, a disastrous final round saw the golfer drop from first into a tie for seventh on the leaderboard. The collapse was such that even tournament host Jack Nicklaus couldn’t stop himself from extending a helping hand. Here is how it went down between McIlroy and Nicklaus!

Jack Nicklaus follows Tiger Woods in extending support to Rory McIlroy

2023 has been full of disappointments for Rory McIlroy. After two missed cuts at the Players and the Masters, he could only muster up a T47 finish at the Wells Fargo Championship last month. However, his struggles at Quail Hollow caught the attention of none other than Tiger Woods. Per reports, Woods, who is currently recuperating at home since his surgery in April, had reached out to McIlroy after noticing something amiss in the latter’s swing. Consequently, the 4-time major winner ended up heading to his friend’s house and having an hours-long session before making his way to Oak Hill for the PGA Championship.

While McIlroy’s form has since improved, with two T7 finishes in back-to-back events on the PGA Tour, his final round 75 at Muirfield was a collapse of epic proportions. He ended up making seven bogeys for a dismal 75 that saw him finish four shots out of the playoff. Eventually, following his horrendous finish, Jack Nicklaus sought out the player and told him that it was time they got together and had a talk.

McIlroy will now be heading to the Oakdale Golf and Country Club in Toronto for the upcoming Canadian Open. The golfer has won the last two editions of the event and will be hoping to defend the title successfully. As for the Memorial Tournament, Norway’s Viktor Hovland finally got his fourth PGA Tour win after a runner-up finish at Oak Hill.

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Viktor Hovland emerges as the winner at Muirfield

A final round of 70 saw World No. 5 Viktor Hovland finish at the top of the leaderboard along with America’s Danny McCarthy. The Norwegian then beat McCarthy in a sudden-death playoff to clinch his first-ever win at Muirfield.

The win came as a huge relief to the 25-year-old. After all, the golfer has been a top contender so many times in major events over the last year. He has been in the top 10 in the last three majors, with his T2 finish at the 2023 PGA Championship being the most notable of them all.

“It feels even better after a few close calls the last few months,” the golfer told CBS after his victory. Hovland also took home $3,600,000 in earnings for his Muirfield heroics.

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Do you think McIlroy will be able to defend his title at the 2023 Canadian Open? Tell us in the comments below!