McIlroy mashed and Rahm ravaged yet the future looks paved with gold

Rory McIlroy will never admit it in public – because he knows it would open a can of worms and go down like a lead balloon. Cans of worms and lead balloons are not very popular in this day and age. In fact, cans of anything are not very popular – bad for the environment. Likewise lead.

In private, though, I bet, like me, McIlroy is absolutely fuming that none of his compatriots showed enough gumption to stop his ball going out of bounds when he hooked an iron-shot off the first tee at Royal Portrush in round one of the Open Championship last week.

I know it's not the 'done thing' and would have been a 'poor show' and 'just not cricket', etc, etc, etc, but sod all that. What is the point of having 'home-crowd advantage' if there is no advantage? Even Dame Laura Davies, bless her cotton socks, in Sky Sports' commentary after McIlroy's first-round 79 expressed her shock that his ball managed to get through the gallery. Quite right, Dame Davies – my jaw dropped to Antarctica when the ball was allowed to scuttle its way to oblivion.