Rory McIlroy has conquered Augusta and withstood a hostile Ryder Cup crowd in a year for the ages. Yet the Northern Irish golfing icon now faces one of sport's most unpredictable challenges: winning over the British public to claim the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award.
The Weight of History and a Painful Near-Miss
The statistics make for grim reading for golf fans. In the 71-year history of the Spoty award, a golfer has triumphed only twice: Dai Rees in 1957 and Nick Faldo in 1989. This paltry return stands in stark contrast to other sports, with athletics stars winning 19 times and Formula One drivers securing eight victories.
McIlroy knows this disappointment firsthand. In 2014, after winning back-to-back majors, he was the overwhelming favourite, only to be pipped by Lewis Hamilton. "I suppose if I don’t win it this time, I never will," McIlroy has conceded. The trend has continued since, with Danny Willett finishing last in the vote after his 2016 Masters win and other major champions like Matt Fitzpatrick failing to even make the shortlist.
The 2025 Contenders: A Formula One Star and a Lioness Hero
Despite a year where he completed the career Grand Slam and led Europe to Ryder Cup glory under intense personal abuse, McIlroy is not without formidable competition.
Lando Norris, the new and immensely popular Formula One World Champion, has seen his odds shorten dramatically, mirroring Hamilton's path in 2014. Meanwhile, Chloe Kelly etched her name into English football folklore by scoring the winning penalty in the Euro 2025 final shootout. A victory for Kelly would mark a fifth consecutive win for a woman, following Beth Mead, Mary Earps, and Kelly Hodgkinson.
"It shows women’s sport is on the up," Kelly said. "We are putting bums on seats and making people see who we really are as athletes."
The Unpredictable 'X-Factor' of Spoty Voting
The award's unique blend of sporting achievement and public likability makes it notoriously difficult to call. Shocks are part of its fabric. In 2006, a emotionally charged favourite, golfer Darren Clarke, lost out to Zara Phillips, with her royal lineage believed to be a decisive factor.
This year, darts sensation Luke Littler is also on the shortlist but has opted not to attend the ceremony in Manchester, focusing on his world title defence. History shows that absence is no barrier, as Mo Farah proved with his surprise 2017 win from his sofa.
McIlroy, who previously dismissed the award as a "popularity contest" and skipped the 2023 event, is taking no chances this time. He will be in attendance, ready to charm voters and hoping to cap an extraordinary year by finally laying golf's Spoty curse to rest.
