When Rory McIlroy pulled out his driver on the third hole in Sunday’s final round of the Masters, Jack Nicklaus figured that either anger or desperation already had overcome the Northern Irishman and that he had discarded his carefully conceived pre-tournament plan.

A concoction of sweaty bodies and long-lens cameras was deadlocked in the upper left-hand corner of the No. 15 grandstand at Augusta National as Rory McIlroy’s 7-foot eagle putt slid underneath the cup.