Horschel then won the tournament for the second time in four years with an eagle at the par-five 18th.

“If someone had of said you’re going to turn up at Wentworth this week and shoot 20 under par, I’d take that – all I can do is keep showing up and trying to play the golf that I’ve been playing and sooner or later it’s going to end up in a win,” added McIlroy.

“And today I played the play-off holes perfectly, really, a couple of birdies. But it just shows the standard out here. If you slip up just a little bit or don’t make a birdie on a crucial hole, someone is always waiting to take advantage of that.”

McIlroy’s focus is firmly on the future as he takes an optimistic approach after a series of disappointments.

“It could have been a different year but the nice thing is there’s next year and the year after and the year after and the year after.

“If you think of my career as a 30-year journey, it’s only one year in a 30-year journey, and hopefully the other 29 are a little more productive or a little bit better.”

On Friday in Singapore, Verstappen was ordered by race stewards to “accomplish some work of public interest”. It was a punishment for swearing while describing his car’s performance at the previous race in Baku while speaking in the official pre-event news conference on Thursday.

He staged a protest against the decision by giving short answers in the official post-qualifying news conference on Saturday, before speaking to journalists outside the room.

He called the penalty “ridiculous” and was backed by title rival Lando Norris and Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton.

After finishing second to Norris in the grand prix, Verstappen conducted the post-race news conference in a similar manner, before speaking to the written media extensively in the Red Bull hospitality unit.

He described the situation as “silly”, and said he was being deprived of the ability to be his authentic self.

“If you can’t really be yourself to the fullest, then it’s better not to speak,” Verstappen said. “But that’s what no one wants because then you become a robot and that’s not how you should be going about it in the sport.

“You should be able to show emotions in a way. That’s what racing is about. Any sport.

“Anyone on the pitch, if they get tackled, or get pushed or they are not happy with something or there is a frustrating moment, or something they get asked about, it’s quite normal there can be a sort of reaction.”

Asked whether he had told governing body the FIA it risked pushing him out of the sport, he said: “I don’t know how seriously they will take that kind of stuff, but for me when it’s enough, it’s enough and we’ll see.

“Racing will go on, F1 will go on without me. It’s not a problem. But also it’s not a problem for me. It’s how it is.”

Verstappen said he felt he had been treated unfairly, especially as he had always tried to help out the governing body if asked.

“There is of course no desire to then give long answers there when you get treated like that,” he said. “I never really felt like I had a bad relationship with them.

“Even this year I did voluntary work with junior stewards. I gave them half an hour interview. It was all set up. I try to help out if they have little favours or whatever.

“I am not a difficult person to say no, I am like: ‘OK, sure, if that’s what you guys like, I like to help out.’ And then I get treated like that. Well, that’s just not how it works.

“So for me it was just quite straightforward, I know I have to answer [in the news conference] but it doesn’t say how long you have to answer for.”

Verstappen said the other F1 drivers, who work together on rules issues under the auspices of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association (GPDA), backed him.

“I wrote in the GPDA [WhatsApp chat] the ruling and everyone was almost laughing,” he said. “Like, ‘what the hell is that?’ So it is very silly.”

Verstappen was asked how long he would continue to behave in such a manner in news conferences, and said he would “see where we are at” by the time of the next race, the United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, on 18-20 October.

Implying that other decisions by officials were ill-considered, he referenced the decision to fine Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz 25,000 euros (£21,000) for crossing the track after crashing in qualifying.

“Carlos got a fine for crossing the track as well, right?” Verstappen said. “I mean, what are we talking about? It’s a red flag, cars are coming in, it’s quite safe and he knows what he’s doing. We are not stupid.

“These kind of things – when I saw it even getting noted [by the stewards], I was like, ‘My god, what are we dealing with?’ These kinds of things are super-silly.”

Asked whether he was prepared to discuss the matter with Mohammed Ben Sulayem, president of FIA, Verstappen said: “It’s not only FIA, it’s also F1. It’s a whole how you operate together.”

There’s a long list of great color commentators who have called boxing matches and MMA fights but Dana White believes there’s one person who stands heads and shoulders above the crowd.

Ever since he first debuted with the UFC as a backstage interviewer all the way back in 1997, Joe Rogan has been a mainstay with the promotion. These days he’s the lead color commentator for most of the major pay-per-view broadcasts and the UFC CEO offered him high praise when addressing Rogan’s contributions to combat sports.

“I consider him the greatest to ever do it,” White told the 2 Bears, 1 Cave podcast. “F*ck all these guys that have ever done any type of commentating on combat sports before this. Rogan is by far [the best].”

While there’s obviously subjectivity when calling anybody the greatest of all-time, White explained one of the many reasons why he believes Rogan has cemented himself at the top — at least where MMA is involved.

When Rogan first started calling fights for the UFC after Zuffa purchased the organization back in 2001, MMA was barely a blip on the overall sports radar. Fans tuning into watch a UFC broadcast didn’t really understand all the nuances of the sport but especially when it came to the ground game that blended wrestling, striking and grappling.

White credits Rogan with finding a way to explain those positions to a general audience that didn’t know the first thing about what was actually happening when a fight landed on the ground.

“To go in and call fights is not easy to do. It’s very hard to do,” White said. “Rogan came and right off the bat started doing it. What was brilliant about Joe and why he was so instrumental in helping us build this sport, nobody was ever going to f*cking understand the ground game.

“Rogan would walk you through in detail while it was happening, he would be one step ahead of the fighter actually as it was taking place, walking you through … and Rogan would f*cking lay it out. We couldn’t have hired anybody else that would have done it.”

White also considers Rogan a true fan of the sport, which comes across during the broadcasts and that makes a real difference with both the audience and the fighters competing in the octagon.

“Every time you would see him on camera and he would be talking about the fights that night, you knew — you felt it in your f*cking soul this guy was not a paid talking head,” White said. “This motherf*cker loves this shit. It came through at every event that we did.”

There have been times in the past where Rogan has openly contemplated stepping away from the UFC, especially when rigorous travel got to be too much for him.

As a result, Rogan now only calls domestic pay-per-view events but he doesn’t travel outside the United States and he only works those major cards that take place 12 to 13 times per year.

Judging by White’s comments, he’s going to do everything possible to ensure that Rogan continues calling fights as long as he’s involved with the UFC.

“It was meant to be,” White said about working with Rogan. “This relationship with me and Rogan and all the other things that have come together in my life and his life and other people’s lives, it’s f*cking crazy when you think about it.

“Rogan is the best to ever do it. The best to ever do it.”

Looking ahead to what comes next, Cacace indicated on Saturday night that while Eduardo ‘Sugar’ Nunez is his mandatory challenger at super-featherweight, he has ambitions of moving into the heavier class against the likes of four-time world champion Vasiliy Lomachenko or Gervonta Davis.

And longer term, he is hoping to be remembered as one of the greats in the storied history of boxing in Northern Ireland.

“Whatever happens, happens. I could go to America, I could come to headline the SSE in Belfast, I would love to, but everything that comes from here is a bonus for me,” he continued.

“I think I can beat him [Lomachenko], he is very good and I will give it my all. The guy is legendary, but I would fight him in the morning! As long as things are right for my family, everything is possible.

“I want to cement my name in Irish boxing some way or other. I would love to do something out of the ordinary, if that was winning another belt or moving up a weight to win a bel, I want to go down as one of the greatest from this country.”

Before that though, Cacace is looking forward to a break, with no fights scheduled for the rest of this year as he looks to recover from injuries sustained against Warrington.

“I need a break, I’m going to rest and enjoy the rest of the year,” Cacace said.

“I have the cut on my eye and the one on the back of my head, they’re going to take three months to heal so hopefully after Christmas some time I can come back and do something special.”

Raul Rosas Jr. believes it’s time to take a big step in his fighting career.

Despite being just 19, making him the youngest fighter on the UFC roster, Rosas (10-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) wants to test himself against the elite of his division. That’s why he asks the UFC to give him a ranked bantamweight for his next outing.

“The thing about me is that I like challenges,” Rosas told MMA Junkie in Spanish. “I want a challenge. I want to test myself, and now I feel very comfortable being in the cage, and I keep getting more comfortable every time I step in there. I feel comfortable fighting a top-15 opponent.

“Personally, I know I’m ready. But even if I’m not ready, I’ll figure out a way to be ready for that date and opponent. If I’m ready, which I think I am, I can still get even more ready, so I can do more than just win, but actually finish and impress everyone, but more importantly the UFC so they can keep giving me fights toward the belt. That’s why I asked for somebody ranked. Either way, if I don’t get someone in the rankings, I want somebody that gets me a ranked opponent.”

Rosas is coming off a unanimous decision win over Aori Qileng (25-12 MMA, 3-4 UFC) at UFC 306 earlier this month. The victory put the Mexican-American on a three-fight winning streak.

Rosas is not too concerned about specific names. He just wants someone with a number next to their name.

“Against anyone really – I just care about getting the opportunity,” Rosas said. “There’s no one specific right now. All I want is the title. I want the title, so whatever fight takes me closer, that’s the fight I want.”