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Only three players — Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo, and Tiger Woods — have ever achieved the impressive feat of winning The Masters in back-to-back attempts.
And no man knows how to win at Augusta National quite the way that Nicklaus does, with his record six green jackets. So when it came time for Nicklaus to give defending champion Rory McIlroy a bit of advice when it came to winning again in 2026, Nicklaus was short and to the point.
❌🤣 Rory McIlroy shared the advice Jack Nicklaus gave to him before this year’s Masters: “No f*cking double bogeys” pic.twitter.com/0l8mDd3wp1
— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) April 10, 2026
Jack Nicklaus Was Extremely Blunt With Rory McIlroy About Double Bogeys
“‘No f—ing double bogeys,'” McIlroy said when asked what Nicklaus said to him on the driving range before his 5-under opening round on Thursday, which gave him a share of the lead. “Apparently, he thought I made too many last year.”
To his credit, Nicklaus is probably right. McIlroy won the 2025 edition of The Masters in a playoff with Justin Rose after each posted a four-round score of 11-under, 267.
But McIlroy didn’t make it easy on himself. He made a pair of double bogeys in the opening round that dropped him back from 4-under at one point to even par on the day, seven shots behind the leader, Rose.
McIlroy then avoided double-bogeying any holes in the second and third rounds, shooting matching scores of 6-under, 66 to take a 2-shot lead over Bryson DeChambeau entering the final round.
However, in the final round, he immediately double-bogeyed the opening hole, falling into a tie with DeChambeau. He then made his fourth double bogey of the week on the par-5, 13th hole.
Ultimately, the eight strokes lost to double bogeys didn’t cost McIlroy the tournament. But if he makes four double bogeys again this year, the odds of him repeating as champion feel extremely slim.