The Masters wasn’t the only elusive honor Rory McIlroy was chasing in 2025 – nor is it the only one he’s won now.
McIlroy was awarded the BBC award Sports Personality of the Year on Thursday, a fan-voted honor given to the UK athlete who has made the biggest impact in the past year.
McIlroy – and the sport of golf – have had a complex relationship with price; despite the great culture of golf in the UK, going into this year’s awards only two golfers had won in its 70-year history and McIlroy had suffered several high-profile snubs.
But the emotional acceptance of the 2025 award made it feel like water under the bridge. It was a chance for McIlroy to reflect on arguably the most significant year of his storied career, a decade of cursed ups and downs.
“Wow,” McIlroy said as he took the stage. “First, I’d like to congratulate all the other finalists. I know how much work and dedication it takes, so it’s a pleasure just to be in this room. I feel really honored to just be a part of it.
“2025 was the year I made my dreams come true. From Augusta to the Ryder Cup and everything in between. It’s the year dreams are made of.”
Reflecting on a year in which McIlroy laid out his ambitious goals – to win at golf’s biggest venues, to win meaningful tournaments, to win a major, to win the Masters, to win a Ryder Cup – and then achieve them one after the other, he guided those closest to him with gratitude.
“I have a lot of people to thank,” McIlroy said. “First, the public, my family, my mom and dad. They sacrificed so much for me. I wouldn’t be here without them, so thank you.
“My wife Erica and my daughter Poppy, they are what hold me together. My rock. They couldn’t be here tonight, but I can’t wait to come back tomorrow and celebrate this with them. I love you.
“And to the BBC for hosting these awards. It’s always been something on the rise that I’ve seen on TV.
“It’s always been a big part of the build-up to Christmas, so I’m really honored to get my hands on this trophy.
“Hopefully I can challenge to get it again next year.”
‘Absolute Heroes’
McIlroy also took a moment to recognize the fathers of two of the victims of last year’s tragic attack in Southport. Sergio Aguiar, who lost his nine-year-old daughter Alice, and David Stancombe, who lost his seven-year-old daughter Elsie, ran the London Marathon this year and received the Helen Rollason Award, which honors outstanding achievement in the face of adversity.
“Being the father of a little girl, Elsie and Alice’s fathers are absolute heroes,” McIlroy told presenter Clare Balding, breaking down in tears.
Aguiar used his marathon run to raise funds for a new playground at Alice’s school, Churchtown Primary School. Stancombe ran for Elsie’s Story, the charity founded in her honour.
An exciting moment for everyone.
Rory McIlroy walked away with the BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2025 trophy and shared his support for the fathers of the two Southport attack victims who won the Helen Rollason Award. pic.twitter.com/0XgARG7Exo
– BBC Sport (@BBCSport) December 18, 2025
“I’m very grateful to accept the award tonight, but I’m just a father keeping a promise to his little girl,” Stancombe said in an emotional acceptance speech. “Elsie wanted me to run the London Marathon and I did. It gave me a massive focus at the hardest time I’ve ever lived through.”
Aguiar said he wanted to spread the magic of Alice around the world.
“I want to dedicate this award to our three daughters: Alice, Elsie and Bebe,” he said. “Keep dancing.”
The magnitude of the evening left McIlroy feeling reflective and grateful.
“Being a dad makes the losses easier, but it makes the good times even more special, and to share that with Erika and Poppy — my whole family has been through that, and I could feel them all with me that day (at Augusta).
“But Michael, why is Rory McIlroy winning the BBC Sports Personality of the Year so meaningful to you?
All right. So…
He is only the third golfer in the award’s 71-year history to win it.
It is the first since Nick Faldo in 1989.
He was up… pic.twitter.com/sXesBntKzR
— Michael McEwan (@MMcEwanGolf) December 18, 2025
Accepting Personality of the Year was actually McIlroy’s second trip to the stage on Thursday; he and Tommy Fleetwood accepted the European Ryder Cup Team of the Year award, ahead of England’s Euro 2025-winning women’s football team and Women’s Rugby World Cup champions England.
“As many other athletes in this room know, it’s an honor to be a part of these teams,” McIlroy said. “I want to say congratulations to the England women’s football team and the Red Roses as well, what you have done this year has been absolutely amazing.
“We’re here as two of 12 players. We also had the captain, vice-captain and the whole backroom team ± we couldn’t have done what we did without all of them. Everyone watching at home, thank you very much.”
McIlroy is the third golfer (after Dai Rees in 1957 and Nick Faldo in 1989) and the third Northern Irishman (after boxer Barry McGuigan in 1985 and jockey Sir AP McCoy in 2010) to win Personality of the Year. He beat five other finalists, with England rugby union player Ellie Kildunne coming second and Formula One driver Lando Norris third.
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