Calling his six Race to Dubai wins “a huge achievement”, McIlroy was clearly keen to enjoy the moment and the fact that he has now tied the record of the late, great Seve Ballesteros. Only Colin Montgomerie’s eight wins are still to be surpassed.
Scott is about to complete a season in which he has, at a time of competitive life when most players are entering inevitable decline, risen from 44th to 20th on the Official World Golf Ranking.
An overnight storm led to preferred lies being in place, so the 33-year-old Englishman’s effort will not count in the former European Tour’s record books.
Chief executive Keith Pelley was firmly circumspect and almost entirely non-specific in his responses to queries about where the DP World Tour is likely to sit within golf’s eco-system when the current discussions eventually come to an end.
The banter, indeed, was fierce at times. And all off-the-record. Anything else would be an invasion of privacy and unethical. But it was fun to listen to.