I am just very honoured to get my hands on this trophy<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
The six nominees for the 2025 award were McIlroy, Lionesses duo Hannah Hampton and Chloe Kelly, England rugby star Ellie Kildunne, darts sensation Luke Littler and newly crowned Formula One world champion Lando Norris.<\/p>\n
McIlroy was also a double-winner, after Team Europe at the Ryder Cup, which featured the golfer, won the award for Team of the Year.<\/p>\n
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His achievements drew praise from Labour Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who described McIlroy\u2019s exploits as \u201cinspirational\u201d.<\/p>\n
“Congratulations, Rory McIlroy, for winning BBC Sports Personality of the Year,\u201d he posted on X.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour incredible performance securing a Ryder Cup victory with Team Europe, alongside a Career Grand Slam, was inspirational.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 36-year-old was the clear favourite heading into the public vote after ending an 11-year wait for a major title with victory at The Masters in April, becoming only the sixth player in history to complete the modern career Grand Slam.<\/p>\n
His triumph at Augusta National was also widely regarded as one of the most significant moments of his career and one of the standout sporting achievements of the year.<\/p>\n
McIlroy followed his Masters success by playing a key role in Europe\u2019s Ryder Cup victory on US soil, further strengthening his claim for the prestigious award, which was decided by a public vote.<\/p>\n
![\"Rory](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/e66ec583-b573-4244-af84-4382072340fe.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Rory McIlroy lifting the trophy this week. Pic: David Davies\/PA Wire<\/p>\n
In his speech upon winning, the golfer said 2025 was the year his dreams came true.<\/p>\n
“I remember growing up looking forward to watching these awards on TV, it was such a big part in the run up to Christmas, so I am just very honoured to get my hands on this trophy, and hopefully I\u2019ll challenge myself to get again next year,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
McIlory has become the first golfer from Northern Ireland to win BBC Sports Personality of the Year since the award began in 1954, and is the third NI sportsperson to take the title following jockey AP McCoy in 2010 and pentathlon gold medallist Lady Mary Peters in 1972.<\/p>\n
Taking to social media following the announcement, NI\u2019s First and Deputy First Ministers paid tribute to McIlroy\u2019s success.<\/p>\n
\u201cCongratulations to Rory McIlroy on winning BBC Sports Personality of the Year,\u201d First Minister Michelle O\u2019Neill posted on X.<\/p>\n
“A fitting award and an amazing way to finish off what has been an absolutely spectacular year on the course.<\/p>\n
![\"Rory](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/23f7a15d-b7da-4665-baf2-b97556936d57.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Rory McIlroy was crowned 2025 BBC Sports Personality of the Year on Thursday. Pic: David Davies\/PA Wire<\/p>\n
News Catch Up – Friday 19 December<\/p>\n
\u201cRory\u2019s achievements are inspiring our young golfers and athletes to believe in their potential and follow their dreams!\u201d<\/p>\n
Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly also posted on her socials, saying: \u201cAmazing! Well done Rory after an incredible achievement this year – well deserved!\u201d<\/p>\n
Fellow Ryder Cup golfer Shane Lowry also congratulated McIlroy, posting on Instagram that \u201cnobody deserves it more\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Holywood golfing star\u2019s award capped a landmark season that saw him finally complete a career Grand Slam…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":644126,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4106],"tags":[1384,2826,1300,4287,79,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-644125","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-golf","8":"tag-down-news","9":"tag-golf","10":"tag-liam-tunney","11":"tag-rory-mcilroy","12":"tag-sports","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115751636393132501","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/644125","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=644125"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/644125\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/644126"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=644125"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=644125"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=644125"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}