Just as actors have Oscars and musicians have Grammy Awards, British athletes also have the SPOTY Award – the Sports Personality of the Year Award, presented by another acronym, the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation). Think ESPY for UK citizens or residents, but over forty years old. There are seven categories — Best Team, Coaches, Youth Athletes and more — but the top honor of the night is SPOTY itself, decided by popular vote.
The first SPOTY race was won in 1954 by Christopher Chataway, a middle-distance runner who broke the 5,000m world record that year; the most recent SPOTY title was won a year ago by fellow runner Keely Hodgkinson, who won Olympic gold in the 800m at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
The track and field standout has won the award 19 times; next on the list is a Formula 1 driver with eight titles, followed by tennis and football stars with seven titles each.
Only two golfers have received this honor: Dai Rees in 1957, when he captained the British and Irish Ryder Cup team to victory over the United States, and Nick Faldo in 1989, when he won the Masters and made three European Tour appearances. When Englishman Danny Willett shocked the golf world and won the Masters in 2016, he finished last among the 16 SPOTY finalists, receiving a paltry 0.3% of the vote. Two years later, when Georgia Hall of Dorset, England, won the Open title, she wasn’t even on the ballot. The same goes for Matt Fitzpatrick (proud of Sheffield!) after winning the 2022 US Open. The apparent snub led to Briton Ian Poulter expressing his disdain for SPOTY on Twitter, calling the organization’s “complete disregard” for Fitzpatrick’s achievements a “farce and a joke”.
And then there’s Rory McIlroy, and yes, he’s had some great years.
In 2014, McIlroy won the PGA Championship and the Open Championship, and Jack Nicklaus spoke highly of it: “I think Rory has a chance to win 15 or 20 majors, or whatever he wants to do if he wants to continue playing.” Unfortunately, British sports fans believe that McIlroy still does not deserve the glory of SPOTY, although he is the bookmaker’s 6-1 favorite to win. Instead, it was F1 driver Lewis Hamilton’s night. As Hamilton accepted the award, he had a message for McIlroy: “I really didn’t expect this because, man, you’ve had an unbelievable year.”
If McIlroy took his second-place finish in stride, his peers did not. “Ridiculous,” Poulter tweeted. Luke Donald, also on X, noted: “I have a lot of angry people on my timeline.”
McIlroy was on the SPOTY shortlist again in 2023 (a season in which he won twice, finished in the top seven three times in majors and went 4-1 in the European Ryder Cup), but caused quite a stir when he chose not to attend the ceremony or make any comments via video. “Every time I see the results, I forget I was nominated,” McIlroy said in early 2025. “So that’s what I think. It’s a popularity contest. It’s not what it used to be.”
What about 2025?
Yes, it’s no surprise that McIlroy is in another final after a stellar year. Pebble Champion. Player winner. Masters Champion. Career Grand Slam Champion. Winner of the Irish Open, Ryder Cup and DP World Tour Championship. The stuff of dreams. legend thing. But is it enough for SPOTY?
That will be decided at a ceremony on Thursday at a glittering space near Manchester, England. McIlroy told British golf writer James Corrigan that he did plan to play this time, saying: “If I’m actually there, my chances of winning are better, and I recognize that the show attracts an audience, which can only be a good thing for the tournament.” He added with a sly smile, “I think if I don’t win this time, I never will.”
His rivals: England footballers Hannah Hampton and Chloe Kelly; rugby star Ellie Kildunn; darts player Luke Littler; and F1 driver Lando Norris.
McIlroy is the heavy favorite, but is he a smart investment?
