Seventeen years after doing similar in its pilot edition, Rory McIlroy slipped into the media centre beside the 18th green at Earth Course as inconspicuously as he could manage to watch the final throes of the Race to Dubai. These days, being understated is a rather trickier gig. Being the first European to win a career grand slam, the star of multiple Ryder Cup wins for Europe and now a record-equalling eighth order of merit, will do that.