Rory McIlroy shortlisted for BBC SPOTY

Rory McIlroy has been shortlisted for the prestigious BBC Sports Personality of the Year award for the second consecutive year

Rory McIlroy

World number one Rory McIlroy has been nominated for the BBC's Sports Personality of the Year award, the only golfer to make the 12-strong shortlist.

He is also the only nominee not to have secured a gold medal at this year's Olympic or Payalympic Games.

The 23-year-old was also nominated last year alongside fellow golfers Luke Donald and Darren Clarke, who won the accolade after victory at the 2011 Open Championship.

McIlroy's inclusion is recognition of a scintillating season, which included a record-breaking eight-shot victory in the PGA Championship at Kiawah Isalnd's Ocean Course.

His victory made him the youngest player since the late Seve Ballesteros to win two majors.

He took his form into the subsequent PGA Tour FedEx Cup play-off series, with victories at the Deutsche Bank and BMW Championships propelling him to an unassailable position atop the PGA Tour money list.

He then played an integral part in Europe's sensational Ryder Cup victory at Chicago's Medinah Country Club.

A string of strong European Tour performances would follow, culminating in triumph at the season-ending DP World Tour Championship.

His win in Dubai ensured he became only the second golfer - following Donald the previous year - to win both the PGA and European Tour money lists in the same season.

The Ulsterman - who picked up €5,519,118 on the European Tour in 2012 - also broke the record for money earned in a single season.

McIlroy's amassed more than €11,000,000 in combined PGA and European Tour earnings in 2012.

Nick Bonfield
Features Editor

Nick Bonfield joined Golf Monthly in 2012 after graduating from Exeter University and earning an NCTJ-accredited journalism diploma from News Associates in Wimbledon. He is responsible for managing production of the magazine, sub-editing, writing, commissioning and coordinating all features across print and online. Most of his online work is opinion-based and typically centres around the Majors and significant events in the global golfing calendar. Nick has been an avid golf fan since the age of ten and became obsessed with the professional game after watching Mike Weir and Shaun Micheel win The Masters and PGA Championship respectively in 2003. In his time with Golf Monthly, he's interviewed the likes of Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose, Jose Maria Olazabal, Henrik Stenson, Padraig Harrington, Lee Westwood and Billy Horschel and has ghost-written columns for Westwood, Wayne Riley, Matthew Southgate, Chris Wood and Eddie Pepperell. Nick is a 12-handicap golfer and his favourite courses include Old Head, Sunningdale New, Penha Longha, Valderrama and Bearwood Lakes. If you have a feature pitch for Nick, please email nick.bonfield@futurenet.com with 'Pitch' in the subject line. Nick is currently playing: Driver: TaylorMade M1 Fairway wood: TaylorMade RBZ Stage 2 Hybrid: Ping Crossover Irons (4-9): Nike Vapor Speed Wedges: Cleveland CBX Full Face, 56˚, Titleist Vokey SM4, 60˚ Putter: testing in progress! Ball: TaylorMade TP5x