Rory McIlroy’s SPOTY snub as he U-turns on attending ‘popularity contest’

Rory McIlroy will be present at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year ceremony as he stands as the frontrunner to claim the accolade. However, the 36-year-old seems to have reversed his earlier position that the honour is merely a "popularity contest."

McIlroy savoured an extraordinary 12 months. In April, he narrowly defeated Justin Rose in a thrilling play-off at the Masters, capturing the major for the first time and achieving a career Grand Slam. This triumph was accompanied by several victories on the PGA Tour and another prominent success at the Ryder Cup in September, where Team Europe secured a win on American territory. Following these achievements, McIlroy features amongst six contenders and emerges as the bookmakers' choice to claim SPOTY. Him attending the ceremony represents a significant shift from his earlier position.

Merely securing the Masters victory months earlier placed McIlroy squarely in SPOTY contention, despite having shunned the awards for more than a decade. McIlroy has received nominations previously, including in 2023. Nevertheless, he has frequently opted to avoid the ceremony and refrained from submitting video messages or statements regarding his nomination.

In January when questioned about SPOTY McIlroy even admitted he had overlooked his 2023 nomination, demonstrating how little attention he paid to the award.

"Whenever I saw the results, I forgot I was nominated," McIlroy confessed. "So that's how much I think about it. It's a popularity contest. It's not what it once was."

However, McIlroy is now tipped to clinch the award and seems to have shifted his perspective. He has revealed plans to attend the ceremony in Salford on 18 December.

It's been over ten years since McIlroy last attended the awards, with his previous appearance in 2014. Despite bagging two major titles that year, he was pipped to the post by Formula 1 ace Lewis Hamilton.

Hamilton even acknowledged McIlroy during his acceptance speech, stating: "I really wasn't expecting it, because, dude [McIlroy], you had such an incredible year."

McIlroy confirmed his attendance at Thursday's awards ceremony in England, telling The Telegraph: "Yeah, the plan is to go. I have more chance of winning if I'm actually there and I recognise that with the audience the show attracts it could only be a good thing for the game."

He further added: "I suppose if I don't win it this time, I never will." If successful, he would join the ranks of Sir Nick Faldo and Dai Rees as the third golfer to be named Sports Personality of the Year.