Just as actors have the Oscars and musicians the Grammys, British sportspeople have the SPOTYs – that is, the Sports Personality of the Year awards given by another acronym, the BBC (i.e. the British Broadcasting Corporation). Think ESPYs for British citizens or residents, but with four extra decades of history. There are seven categories – best team, coach, junior athlete, etc. – but the biggest honor of the evening is the SPOTY itself, which is decided by popular vote.
The first SPOTY, in 1954, was won by Christopher Chataway, a long-distance and middle-distance runner who broke the 5,000-meter world record that year; the most recent SPOTY, a year ago, was won by Keely Hodgkinson, also a runner, who won Olympic gold in the 800 meters at the 2024 Summer Games in Paris.
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Track and field stars have won the award 19 times; Next on the list are Formula 1 racers with 8 victories, followed by tennis and football stars with 7 titles each.
Only two golfers have claimed this honor: Dai Rees in 1957, when he captained the Great Britain and Ireland Ryder Cup team to victory over the Americans, and Nick Faldo in 1989, when he won the Masters and three times on the European Tour. In 2016, when England’s Danny Willett stunned the golf world and won the Masters, he finished last among SPOTY’s 16 finalists, with a paltry 0.3% of the vote. When two years later, Georgia Hall of Dorset, England, won the Open Championship, she didn’t even make the ballot. Idem Matt Fitzpatrick (Sheffield pride!) following his victory at the 2022 US Open. This perceived snub led Englishman Ian Poulter to tweet his contempt for SPOTY, calling the organisation’s “utter disregard” for Fitzpatrick’s achievement a “farce and joke”.
And then there’s Rory McIlroy, who, yes, has had a banner few years.
In 2014, McIlroy won the PGA Championship and the Open Championship – and this praise from Jack Nicklaus: “I think Rory has the opportunity to win 15 or 20 majors or whatever he wants to do if he wants to keep playing.” Alas, British sports fans felt McIlroy was still not worthy of SPOTY glory, despite being the bookies’ 6-1 favorite to win. Instead, it was F1 driver Lewis Hamilton’s night. When Hamilton accepted the award, he had a message for McIlroy: “I really didn’t expect it, because, man, you’ve had such an incredible year.”
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If McIlroy took his second place without problem, this is not the case for his peers. “Ridiculous,” Poulter tweeted. Noted Luke Donald, also on X: “Lots of angry people on my timeline.”
McIlroy was shortlisted for a SPOTY again in 2023 (after a season in which he won twice, finished in the top 7 at majors three times, and went 4-1 in the European Ryder Cup), but caused a bit of a stir when he chose not to attend the ceremony or provide comments via video. “Every time I saw the results, I forgot I was nominated,” McIlroy said in early 2025. “So that’s how much I think about it. It’s a popularity contest. It’s not what it used to be.”
And in 2025?
Yeah, McIlroy, no surprises following his monster yearis a finalist again. Pebble winner. Winning players. Winner of the Masters. Career Grand Slam champion. Crowned with titles at the Irish Open, Ryder Cup and DP World Tour Championship. Dream stuff. Legendary thing. But enough for a SPOTY?
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That will be decided on Thursday, during the awards ceremony in a glittering venue near Manchester, England. McIlroy » said British golf writer James Corrigan that this time he plans to be in attendance, saying, “I have a better chance of winning if I’m actually there, and I recognize that with the audience the show draws, that can only be a good thing for the game. With a smirk, he added, “I guess if I don’t win this time, I’ll never win it.”
His competitors: English footballers Hannah Hampton and Chloe Kelly; rugby star Ellie Kildunne; darts player Luke Littler; and F1 driver Lando Norris.
McIlroy is the big betting favorite, but is the smart money on him?
The position Rory McIlroy’s complicated past with a ‘popularity contest’ appeared first on Golf.
