Jack Nicklaus Rips Rory and Others for Missing Tournaments Due to “Little” Injuries

Golf has certainly evolved since the years of Sam Snead, Ben Hogan, and Jack Nicklaus. With increased technology and overall athleticism in recent years, the game has changed along with strategy. But that didn’t stop Nicklaus from ripping the new generation.

Nicklaus has been in front of the cameras a good bit this week with the Memorial Tournament being played at his course, Muirfield Village Country Club. With this increased exposure, Nicklaus didn’t waste his time in the spotlight and took a nice shot at today’s stud golfers, specifically multiple major winner Rory McIlroy.

The whole controversy happened when the Golden Bear was asked about Rory’s decision to pull out of the tournament with continued rib discomfort, opting to rest up for the U.S. Open. Jack compared this to his playing days.

He asked the sea of reporters “You think I had any injuries when I played? Do you think Arnold had any injuries when he played? Do you think Gary had any injuries when he played? How many tournaments do you think that we entered that we withdrew from during the course of our career?” He answered his own question by gesturing the number zero with his hand.

To be fair, Rory isn’t the only player missing the tournament this week, as Justin Rose and Paul Casey both withdrew due to ailments and Nicklaus did say that McIlroy apologized for having to miss the tournament. But the legend does believe that missing tournaments has become a norm for PGA TOUR players, all the way to the point that they can’t make decisions for themselves.

Jack continued by saying that when he was playing, he made all decisions by himself, not having personal trainers or nutritionists to tell him what he should do. It was him all by himself and his gut, something he seems to think players lack nowadays. Nicklaus also chalked up this lack of participation to financial reasons. Players will choose to play when it is most financially beneficial to them.

While many players and fans will say this is just an old legend feeding the media sour grapes over how the game has changed, the Golden Bear is the best golfer of all time and his 18 majors entitle him to his opinion. And some players may be wise to listen to his advice in the future.

For more here’s the full interview from the May 30th press conference. Skip to 33:30 to hear Jack address Rory’s withdrawl.

@jacknicklaus speaks to media at @MemorialGolf https://t.co/Cob2PZiFfC

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 30, 2017

Cover Image via Twitter