Jack Nicklaus says concentration lapses behind Rory McIlroy not winning Masters

Jack Nicklaus criticised Rory McIlroy for a lack of concentration as the 88th Masters belatedly got under way at Augusta National.

Overnight rain and the threat of thunderstorms saw the start of play pushed back from 8am to 1030am, with honorary starters Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tom Watson kicking off proceedings 20 minutes earlier by hitting tee shots on the first before retiring to the clubhouse.

The trio then gave a lengthy press conference before Nicklaus joined “Live from the Masters” on the Golf Channel and discussed why McIlroy had yet to win a green jacket to complete a career grand slam.

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“I only have one criticism of Rory,” 18-time major winner Nicklaus said.

“You have to concentrate 100 per cent of the time. For some reason, Rory always has a little bit of a lapse somewhere around the tournament. He’ll find a double bogey or triple bogey that sneaks in there.

“I don’t know how he does it or why he does it, but it happens. And I wish that wouldn’t happen.”

During the earlier press conference Nicklaus said he believed McIlroy would win the Masters at some point, but pointed out that Watson and Arnold Palmer both missed out on a career grand slam after failing to win the US PGA.

“I mean, is Tom Watson good enough to win the Grand Slam? Absolutely,” Nicklaus said.

“Was Arnold Palmer good enough to win the Grand Slam? Absolutely. Is Rory McIlroy good enough to win the Grand Slam, absolutely, but they have got to do it, and they all know that.

“Do I think Rory will win here? Yeah. He could win this year. He could win next year. He’s just too talented not to. But then again, they