HOYLAKE, England – In the breathless days following Rory McIlroy’s emotional major milestone at the 2014 Open Championship, even a legend was lured into reckless talk by the Northern Irishman’s performance.
“Rory is on par to [win 18 majors],” Jack Nicklaus gushed. “I would be very surprised if he doesn’t.”
It was the type of hyperbole that bubbles up when you win four majors by an average of 4.75 shots in four years. McIlroy was a generational player doing generational things and the Golden Prognosticator was here for all of it.
In Nicklaus’ defense, at 25, McIlroy was the third youngest player to reach the three-quarter pole of the Grand Slam mile and in the Hoylake twilight following his two-shot victory he cast an impossibly imposing shadow.