Once again, Rory McIlroy’s biggest competition for national honor is on a race track. But if history indeed repeats itself, Pierce Morgan warns the committee that the BBC SPOTY award will lose credibility.

“If @McIlroyRory doesn’t win this,” Morgan wrote on X, “it will render SPOTY utterly pointless and irrelevant. He’s had an unbelievable year, transporting him into the ranks of true sporting greats.”

Typical Morgan, as emphatic as he could be. His endorsement of McIlroy does not come without a challenge to the British public. If SPOTY is honoring the year’s defining sports figure, then McIlroy should be a definite conclusion, he argues. Yet, the needle can turn towards anyone.

The list of nominees is arguably the strongest in recent years. Cementing that thesis is, of course, McIlroy’s name. But alongside him is Lando Norris, who is just fresh off his first Formula 1 world title. Interestingly, 11 years ago, McIlroy lost the award to another Formula 1 racer, Lewis Hamilton (Rory fans hoping hard against a deja vu this time). Following them are Luke Littler, the 18-year-old darts prodigy, rugby star Ellie Kildunne, who is now a celebratory name after England’s World Cup triumph, and footballers Chloe Kelly and Hannah Hampton. In other words, McIlroy will be facing a peculiar challenge.

Peculiar because golf doesn’t exactly have a strong track record in SPOTY. In the award’s 70-year history, only two golfers have taken the title home: Dai Rees in 1957 and Sir Nick Faldo in 1989. Can Rory McIlroy create history by winning the accolade after 36 years?

He might. That’s the only answer one can come up with after taking a look at his 2025 season. The victory in Augusta was definitely the trailblazer, ending his 11-year thirst for a career Grand Slam. Only six players in the history of the sport have won all four majors, of which McIlroy is now a part.

The final round drew a peak of 19.54 million viewers, which was the highest record for the Masters in ten years. And yet, that wasn’t the end of McIlroy’s year.

There were other wins, at Pebble Beach for The PLAYERS Championship, and his seventh Race to Dubai title. But what drew significant attention was the Ryder Cup. Amidst the hostile crowd, which neither spared him nor his wife, McIlroy defiantly delivered 3.5 points. Europe got its first away win since 2012.

If these accolades don’t convince you in favor of McIlroy, then what else will? And surely, we might be a little biased towards our European talisman, but Morgan isn’t. As bold, hyperbolic, and unfiltered as he is, this is not the first time he has lent his support to the 36-year-old.

He was present at Bethpage Black and observed McIlroy’s play rather closely. “The behaviour of the fans was disgusting…but that seemed to fuel our boys,” he noted. Before that, he had also invited McIlroy to his TalkTV show “Piers Morgan Uncensored,” to discuss the ‘partisan nature’ of LIV Golf.

In all honesty, Piers Morgan’s conviction in support of Rory McIlroy does reveal a broader context. This year is perhaps golf’s best chance in a generation to be acknowledged on a national stage. A stage that has often been overlooked. But with McIlroy on the nominations, golf might just get it.

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Rory McIlroy’s closer to winning the SPOTY than you think

Support for Rory McIlroy extends far beyond Piers Morgan’s endorsement. The betting markets and analysts have placed him confidently at the front, with him being the favorite to win. Rory carries the odds of 8/13, while his rivals, Lando Norris (4/1), Chloe Kelly (3/1), aren’t even close.

Sports outlets like Golf Monthly have described McIlroy as a trendsetter of the season: “nobody has done what Rory McIlroy has done this year.” While The Independent‘s Harry Latham-Coyle believes that winning the Masters and then the Ryder Cup is nothing less than a “sporting year sent from the gods.”

This insistence becomes persuasive when you see the dynamics of this year’s field. For the last four years, SPOTY has always crowned a new winner. That drive was mostly due to a surge in women’s sports and their rapidly growing public influence. But this year, with Kelly and Hannah Hampton nominated at the same time, the voting base might get divided. This leaves room for others.

Here, Norris can grab the bigger piece with his fresh victory. And factually, for the last 48 years, every British driver with the Formula 1 world title has won the SPOTY. The only exception was Jenson Button in 2009. This might fragment McIlroy’s chance, but as you see, exceptions do exist

Yet, he has a tinge of doubt himself. “I suppose if I don’t win it this time, I never will,” McIlroy told The Telegraph recently.

His fans can change that, as voting opens at 7:00 PM GMT, December 18, on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.