It has been thirty-six years since a golfer last won the SPOTY award, but it has not changed. Rory McIlroy winning the Masters after eleven years made the change happen. It was an emotional moment. BBC Sport shared a clip of McIlroy’s acceptance speech, and the Northern Irishman’s voice wavered as he turned his gratitude toward family.

“But my family… My mum and dad sacrificed so much for me. You know, I obviously wouldn’t be here without them. So mum and dad, if you’re watching – thank you,” McIlroy said, echoing the tribute he gave his parents after wearing the Green Jacket, thanking them for their sacrifices.

The weight of those words carried decades of quiet sacrifice. Gerry McIlroy cleaned toilets and showers at a local sports club every morning, then bartended at Holywood Golf Club from noon to 6 pm, then returned to the sports club to work behind the bar in the evenings. Rosie McIlroy worked late-night shifts at a factory for years. The family didn’t take a holiday for a decade. All so their son could chase a dream most would have called unrealistic.

“I had no idea what else to do. I’m a working-class man. We wanted to give our only child a chance,” Gerry once said.

The 36-year-old became the first golfer to claim the award since Nick Faldo in 1989. He beat finalists including Ellie Kildunne and Lando Norris in the public vote. McIlroy’s 2025 season justified the recognition. He completed the career Grand Slam at Augusta in April, becoming the sixth player in history and the first European to do so. Months later, he contributed 3.5 points as Europe secured its first away Ryder Cup victory since 2012 at Bethpage Black.

McIlroy’s SPOTY win carries weight as he has been close before. In 2014, McIlroy finished second to Lewis Hamilton despite winning two majors that year, including The Open at Royal Liverpool, and contributing to Europe’s Ryder Cup victory. The award slipped away then. It didn’t this time.

“2025 has been the year that I made my dreams come true – from Augusta to the Ryder Cup and everything else in between. It really has been the year that dreams are made of,” McIlroy said during the speech.

“We didn’t have much money growing up, so my dad took on extra jobs, my mum worked night shifts in a factory just to be able to support my dream of playing golf. So everything I do and everything that I’m able to accomplish, the first thing I think about is them because if it weren’t for them, then you know I wouldn’t be standing here today,” McIlroy said.

McIlroy’s win carried significance beyond his own story, highlighting the complexities of being a golfer. It isn’t a shiny sport, and golfers rarely break through in a public vote dominated by football, Formula 1, and Olympic athletes. This year, McIlroy changed that not through campaigning, but through a season so complete it left little room for debate.

But his parents gave him more than opportunity. They gave him a way of seeing the world.

The lesson Gerry McIlroy taught Rory

In 2011, a 21-year-old McIlroy held a four-shot lead entering the final round at Augusta. Then the back nine happened. He dropped six shots over three holes—a triple-bogey at the 10th, a bogey at 11, a four-putt double at 12. His drive at the 13th found Rae’s Creek. He shot an 8-over 80 and finished tied for 15th, 10 shots behind winner Charl Schwartzel.

That night, he called his parents.

“My mum might have said something like, ‘Oh, don’t worry, Rory, everything will be OK,’ and I just blubbered back, ‘No, it won’t be OK!’ At the time, it felt like the only chance I would have of winning at Augusta, and I blew it,” McIlroy later shared.

It wasn’t his last chance. Two months later, he won the U.S. Open at Congressional by eight shots. More majors followed in 2012 and 2014. But the Green Jacket remained out of reach for 14 years.

McIlroy credits his father’s mindset for carrying him through.

“I’ve always been an eternal optimist, always holding onto the hope that my day would come and that I would achieve what I wanted to achieve. I get that from my dad, Gerry,” McIlroy told Gary Williams on the 5 Clubs podcast.

Standing on that stage in Salford, McIlroy wasn’t just thanking his parents for the money they spent or the hours they worked. He was thanking them for the way they taught him to see the world—even when it felt like everything was falling apart.