Rory McIlroy’s indifference is understandable after achieving his dream | Ewan Murray

Golfer has seemed irritated by elements of the media since completing the career grand slam but is that really a big deal?

A snapshot of Rory McIlroy's new normal arrived the day before the USPGA Championship began. McIlroy's practice round at Quail Hollow was watched by more than 50, inside the ropes. Journalists, content creators, wannabe content creators ... everyone wanted not just a glimpse - you can get that from the bleachers - but a piece of golf's latest grandslam man. McIlroy played a hole while being interviewed for the tournament's main preview show. All soft, knockaround stuff but inevitably a distraction.

It was difficult to shake the notion that Tiger Woods would never have tolerated such a scenario. It is also thankfully a truism that McIlroy is not Tiger Woods. The Northern Irishman's chatty, warm personality endears him to so many. In a non-tribal sport people root for Rory, none more so than at Augusta National when more that a decade of frustration ended amid euphoric April scenes. Hardened men shed tears in a media centre, no less.