Thursday US Open diary

US Open contender Rory McIlroy revealed how he had spent two hours in the company of Jack Nicklaus last week, picking the Golden Bear’s brain for nuggets about how to succeed in this week’s major at Pinehurst No.2.

Which begged the question, how do you go about securing an audience with the great man and 18-time major champion?

“I was at the Memorial and I actually had a bit of lunch with him at Memorial,” McIlroy explained.