‘I Forgot I Was Nominated’ - Rory McIlroy Labels BBC SPOTY A ‘Popularity Contest’

Rory McIlroy is keen to earn his trophies through talent and hard work and insisted he had forgotten he was nominated for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award last month - a competition he called "a popularity contest."

McIlroy was nominated for the six-athlete line-up in 2023 but chose not to attend and sent Tommy Fleetwood in his place. And while it was not disclosed why the decision was taken by the 34-year-old, McIlroy's nomination came after the perception that golf has been underrepresented at the ceremony through the years.

After 70 ceremonies, only two golfers have ever won the Sports Personality of the Year award. Welsh player Dai Rees was the first in 1957 after leading Great Britain’s triumph in that year’s Ryder Cup, their first in 24 years. The other was Nick Faldo, who claimed the honour in 1989 after he won that year’s Masters at Augusta National.

Asked about the BBC's annual award prior to this week's Dubai Desert Classic, McIlroy somewhat surprisingly claimed it had since slipped his mind that he was even nominated before stating the prize does not carry as much meaning as it once did, in his eyes.

McIlroy said: "Actually... I forgot I was nominated. So that's how much I think about it. It's a popularity contest, and I think it's just not really - it's not what it once was."

Sky Sports currently has the rights to broadcast a wide array of live golf coverage every week - from the PGA Tour and DP World Tour to the LPGA Tour and Ladies European Tour - while United Kingdom & Ireland-based outlets such as the BBC rarely show any golf at all.

The relationship between the BBC and golf has become an increasingly tenuous one in recent years, with the broadcaster choosing to end its highlights coverage of the Masters last year while snubbing Matt Fitzpatrick from its list of Sports Personality of the Year nominees in 2022 despite the Yorkshireman being the reigning US Open champion at the time.

Before going on to say that it "depends what my chances were of winning it" when asked whether he would attend the SPOTY ceremony in future should he win the career Grand Slam, McIlroy suggested there was a fairly simple fix for those missing out on live golf coverage through the BBC's ever-cooling relationship with the sport.

He said: "Just buy Sky Sports, I guess. I think legacy media is not what it once was. Terrestrial TV, print media, no offence (laughter)... but we are transitioning into a different world and I think people just consume their content differently than they once did.

"They want things on their phone. They want things on their iPads. It's just different. The consumer now compared to the consumer 20 years ago is just very, very different."

McIlroy is due to tee off alongside Nicolai Hojgaard and Adam Scott at 11.10pm ET (4.10am GMT) in the opening round of the Dubai Desert Classic, and 3.30am ET (8.30am GMT) in the second round on Friday.