After achieving his career Grand Slam and winning an away Ryder Cup, Rory McIlroy is lined up to possibly win the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award. Notably, the Irishman believes that he has the best shot at being honored with the prestigious award, despite the fact that he faces four other athletes who have had exceptional years themselves.

Apart from McIlroy, F1 racer Lando Norris, darts superstar Luke Littler, rugby pro Ellie Kildunne, and soccer player Hannah Hampton are also nominated for the award. However, what Rory has achieved in 2025 may surpass all the other nominees. As such, the BBC will be heavily criticized if they still don’t honor McIlroy with the award. Interestingly, it won’t be the first time the network has been criticized for the same. Here are five instances where pro golfers have taken a stand against the BBC:

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Ian Poulter

2025 was a momentous year for Rory McIlroy & Co. at Bethpage. But 13 years ago, Team Europe, led by José María Olazábal, last defeated the Americans on their soil at Medinah Country Club. Each of the players brought pride to their country and to the continent. Ian Poulter was one of them, and he was also the top performer for the Europeans. He won all four of the matches he participated in at the 2012 Ryder Cup.

But when it came to the Sports Personality of the Year award, the BBC didn’t consider Team Europe as a candidate. Now we understand that a team is not an entity that can be considered a Sports Personality. But the BBC even contradicted that based on who ended up receiving the award in the end.

As Poulter told The Telegraph, “SPOTY is a joke. In 2012, the GB Olympic team won the team prize, despite it saying in SPOTY’s rulebook that an Olympic team could not win it. They just changed the rules at the last minute, meaning the Europe Ryder Cup team from that year did not win. Pathetic.”

The 2012 Great Britain Olympic Team finished third with 29 gold medals, 18 silver medals, and 18 bronze medals in London, U.K. Poulter believes that the European Ryder Cup team winning in the United States deserved to win the SPOTY that year instead of the GB Olympic Team finishing third on home soil.

Luke Donald

It’s not just the BBC’s unfair honoring of the Sports Personality of the Year award that is being criticized. In fact, Luke Donald believes that the entire ceremony turns the accomplishments of the athletes into a joke.

In 2011, the Englishman was nominated for the BBC SPOTY. He had enjoyed an amazing season of golf and held the World No. 1 ranking for 40 straight weeks. So the network had decided to honor him for excelling in the sport.

But he discussed how embarrassing the ceremony was. As Donald mentioned, “They’ve turned it into such a show. When I was nominated, they did this whole skit about me being Luke Skywalker, with my clubs depicted as lightsabers. It was a bit demeaning, to be honest.”

Donald didn’t end up winning the award in the end. But the presentation ceremony to introduce him as a nominee was shocking enough for him to regret ever being a part of it. The 2025 Ryder Cup captain would probably not entertain the ceremony this year as well if Rory McIlroy weren’t nominated.

Matt Fitzpatrick

The BBC Sports Personality of the Year award considers the achievements of athletes from every sport. But over the years, they have certainly shown favoritism towards certain sports. And it can be seen in their records.

Athletics has received the most SPOTY awards over the years, which can include a variety of activities. However, athletes from sports like soccer, Formula One, tennis, cycling, boxing, and cricket have always had an edge at the event. In fact, in its 71 editions, SPOTY has only been awarded to two golfers.

So when Matt Fitzpatrick was asked why he didn’t attend the event, he replied, “The recent history told me I had no chance and I didn’t want to give them the pleasure.” He knew that the chances of him winning were very slim. In fact, even Ian Poulter stated, “I’m glad Matt saved himself the airfare.” He, too, believed that the SPOTY is rigged against golf pros.

Darren Clarke

Twice in his career, Darren Clarke had the honor of being nominated for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award. In 2006, it was due to his incredible performance for Team Europe in the Ryder Cup. In 2011, it was because he won the Open Championship at Royal St George’s.

However, on both occasions, the BBC decided that he wasn’t good enough to win the award. Instead, they gave him the second spot on the list. Even then, Clarke thought that other candidates deserved his spot more than him.

Joe Calzaghe talked about how Clarke consoled him after what happened back then. A fellow nominee in 2006, Calzaghe said, “Darren Clarke said he was embarrassed he’d got an award ahead of me and that I hadn’t won it.”

In 2006, Calzaghe won the IBF World Title and the inaugural The Ring Super-Middleweight title. He had also kept a stronghold on his WBO super-middleweight title. Moreover, the boxing legend had also maintained his unbeaten streak in his division. No wonder Darren Clarke felt he didn’t deserve to finish second.

Rory McIlroy

This is the second time Rory McIlroy has been nominated for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award. While there is no time in his career when he deserved to win it more than now, he was still a strong candidate back in 2014.

That’s when he had won two majors in a year, the PGA Championship and the Open Championship. Only 25 back then, he had also become the World No. 1 golfer. Moreover, he was also one major away from achieving the career Grand Slam.

However, the BBC decided to place him second that year. Instead, they honored Lewis Hamilton with the award. The F1 legend did have an impressive run that year. He recorded 16 podium finishes in 19 races, 11 of which were wins.

But McIlroy’s snub still upset many. In continuation of what Ian Poulter said about the Ryder Cup team losing the SPOTY, he also added, “…the Europe Ryder Cup team from that year did not win. Pathetic. And then for Rory not to win it a few years later?” Poulter clearly had a lot of pent-up anger.

After years of criticism, hopefully, the BBC can change everyone’s perception of them and finally honor Rory McIlroy for his incredible achievement in 2025. Especially after the fans were left infuriated when he lost the PGA Tour Player of the Year to Scottie Scheffler. Even as the Irishman is considering boycotting the event.