Rory McIlroy’s secret weapon at The Masters? Jack Nicklaus.

Gary Player pulled out his traditional leg kick, Jack Nicklaus laughed that he couldn’t reach the tee and Tom Watson was just soaking in the moment. 

On the most serene Augusta morning, the traditional honorary starters strolled out from the clubhouse, past the famous Big Oak Tree and onto the first tee to the acclaim of hundreds of patrons.

All three nailed their shots straight down Augusta National’s wide first fairway, and with that, chairman Fred Ridley, concluded, “the 2025 Masters Tournament is officially underway.”

Within minutes, the trio were whisked across to the press building for the annual Honorary Starters Press Conference. And after addressing topics from slow play to the stalling PGA Tour-LIV negotiations, all three were asked who they think will win this year’s Masters.

The unanimous answer? Rory McIlroy.

The triumvirate of a combined 140 Masters appearances and 11 Green Jackets are confident that McIlroy will soon join Nicklaus and Watson as only the sixth player to complete the career grand slam.

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Indeed, Player believes the stars have aligned for the Northern Irishman.

“I think Rory McIlroy will win the Masters this year, and I hope he does because it would give golf a great boost to have another winner of the Grand Slam. He has the best swing in golf without a question.

“It’s just the right time for him to win now. The golf course – there’s no golf course that suits a man better than it does for Rory.”

Without expanding on his own reasoning, Watson concurred.

“I just have a gut feeling that Rory is the guy that’s going to win this week,” the two-time champion said. “That’s the bottom line. That’s my gut feeling.”

Six-time winner Nicklaus agreed. “Well, ditto,” he grinned. “I think the same as you two guys. I think it’s about time that Rory won.”

Then came perhaps the most revealing admission of a lengthy press conference, as Nicklaus divulged that McIlroy went in depth with the 85-year-old last week on course strategy around Augusta.

“I sat down with Rory last week and we had lunch,” Nicklaus began, “and we were talking, and I said, Rory, I know you prepared for Augusta; tell me how you’re going to play the golf course.

“We went through it shot for shot. And he got done with the round, and I didn’t open my mouth. And I said, well, I wouldn’t change a thing. That’s exactly the way I would try to play the golf course.”

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McIlroy has lunched with Nicklaus in the past on the eve of his annual Augusta visit. In the build up the the 2015 tournament, Nicklaus told McIlroy of the patience he required to remain in contention.

Since then, McIlroy has had six top-ten finishes in this elusive major, but has only had a serious chance on Sunday once – when Patrick Reed slipped into the Green Jacket in 2018.

“The discipline to do that is what Rory has lacked in my opinion,” Nicklaus added. “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 and an eight or a seven pops up (on his scorecard), 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.

“Obviously Scottie Scheffler is just coming back in again, he’s a defending champion, there’s nobody playing any better in the game than Scottie.

“Between the two of them, I think you’re going to find your winner.”

Ben Parsons is the Senior Writer at bunkered and is the man to come to for all of the latest news, across both the professional and amateur games. Formerly of The Mirror and Press Association, he is a member at Halifax Golf Club and is a long-suffering fan of both Manchester United and the Wales rugby team.