Well Considered

Before any event worth its salt, a list of usual suspects is rounded up and herded into the media centre one after another, some more reticently than others.

- KENT GRAY

Seasoned hacks who once filed into said marquees for the preview Q&As are now getting used to logging in online, a remote new reality, sadly. Thankfully, one constant has remained - the heightened anticipation when Rory McIlroy is in town, or beamed on screen. You don’t ever want to miss an audience with the four-time major champion.

The 31-year-old Northern Irishman rarely shies from a question, no matter how mundane or curly. What’s more, his unfiltered responses, whether you agree or not, are generally well-considered and always thought-provoking. Only occasionally has McIlroy seemed truly disconnected from reality and in his defence, that was back in his 20s when one can be excused for confusing chasing a ball around a field with a stick for millions of dollars with anything like hard work or societal importance in the real world.

Golf’s walking headline, Bryson DeChambeau, no prefix required Patrick Reed, joker Henrik Stenson and introspective Martin Kaymer are others who guarantee a decent yarn. But McIlroy has become something different - the voice and conscience of professional golf.