Just as actors have the Oscars and musicians have the Grammys, British sportsmen and women have the SPOTYs — that is, the Sports Personality of the Year awards presented by another acronym, the BBC (that is, the British Broadcasting Corporation). Think the ESPYs for British citizens or residents but with four more decades of history. There are seven categories — best team, coach, junior athlete, etc. — but the night’s top honor is the SPOTY itself, which is decided by popular vote.
The inaugural SPOTY, in 1954, was won by Christopher Chataway, a long- and middle-distance runner who that year broke the world record for 5,000 meters; 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.
Track-and-field standouts have won the prize 19 times; next on the list is Formula One racers with eight wins, followed by tennis and soccer stars with seven titles apiece.
Only two golfers have claimed the 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 Englishman Danny Willett stunned the golf world and won the Masters, he finished last among the 16 SPOTY finalists, earning a measly 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. Ditto Matt Fitzpatrick (pride of Sheffield!) in the wake of his 2022 U.S Open win. That perceived snub led Englishman Ian Poulter to tweet his disdain for the SPOTYs, calling the organization’s “complete disregard” for Fitzpatrick’s accomplishment a “farce and joke.”
And then there’s Rory McIlroy, who, yes, has had a few banner years of his own.
In 2014, McIlroy won the PGA Championship and Open Championship — and this high praise from Jack Nicklaus: “I think Rory has an 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 still wasn’t worthy of SPOTY glory, despite being the bookies’ 6-1 favorite to prevail. Instead, it was F1 racer Lewis Hamilton’s night. When Hamilton accepted the award, he had a message for McIlroy: “I really wasn’t expecting it, because, dude, you had such an incredible year.”
If McIlroy took his runner-up finish in stride, his peers did not. “Ridiculous,” tweeted Poulter. Noted Luke Donald, also on X: “Lot of angry people on my timeline.”
McIlroy was shortlisted for a SPOTY again in 2023 (following a season in which he won twice, had three top-7 finishes in the majors and went 4-1 in Europe’s Ryder Cup romp) but caused a minor stir when he elected not to attend the ceremony or provide any comments by video. “Whenever 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 once was.”
And in 2025?
Yep, McIlroy, no surprise in the wake of his monster year, is a finalist again. Pebble winner. Players winners. Masters winner. Career Grand Slam champion. Capped by titles at the Irish Open, Ryder Cup and DP World Tour Championship. Dream stuff. Legendary stuff. But enough for a SPOTY?
That will be decided Thursday, at the awards ceremony in a gleaming space near Manchester, England. McIlroy told British golf writer James Corrigan that this time around he does plan to be in attendance, saying: “I have more chance of winning if I’m actually there, and I recognize that with the audience the show attracts it could only be a good thing for the game. With a sly grin, he added, “I suppose if I don’t win it this time, I never will.”
His competition: England soccer players Hannah Hampton and Chloe Kelly; rugby star Ellie Kildunne; darts player Luke Littler; and F1 driver Lando Norris.
McIlroy is the heavy betting favorite, but is the smart money on him?
