Northern Ireland golfer, Rory McIlroy, has been named BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2025 after completing the career Grand Slam and playing a pivotal role in Europe’s Ryder Cup victory in the United States.
The 36-year-old from Holywood achieved golfing immortality in April by winning the Masters at Augusta National, completing the set of all four major championships.
He became only the sixth man and the first European to achieve the career Grand Slam, joining Americans Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus, and Tiger Woods, along with South Africa’s Gary Player.
Having already claimed the US Open, The Open, and the US PGA Championship by 2014, McIlroy had to wait 11 more years to make his “dreams come true.”
He then helped Europe secure its first Ryder Cup win on American soil since 2012, contributing three-and-a-half points to his team’s triumph.
McIlroy also thrilled fans at home by winning the Irish Open for a second time, along with victories at the Players Championship and the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, before capping off a remarkable year with his seventh Race to Dubai title.
“Wow,” McIlroy said after receiving the award. “First of all, I would like to congratulate all of the other finalists. I know how much hard work and dedication it takes, so it is a pleasure to just be in this room. I feel truly honoured to just be a part of it.
“2025 has been 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.”
England rugby union player Ellie Kildunne finished second, while Formula 1 driver Lando Norris came third.
Just moments before collecting his individual award, McIlroy, alongside Tommy Fleetwood, accepted the Team of the Year award for Europe’s Ryder Cup success.
Other nominees for the award included England forward Chloe Kelly, Lionesses goalkeeper Hannah Hampton, and darts player Luke Littler, with the winner chosen by public vote.
McIlroy becomes just the third golfer to win Sports Personality, following Dai Rees in 1957 and Nick Faldo in 1989. He is also the third Northern Irishman to claim the trophy, after boxer Barry McGuigan in 1985 and jockey Sir AP McCoy in 2010.
“I have a lot of people to thank,” he added. “Firstly, the public, my family, my mum and my 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 holds me together. My rock. They couldn’t be here tonight but I can’t wait to get back tomorrow and celebrate this with them. I love you.
“And to the BBC for hosting these awards. It has always been something growing up that I watched on TV. It was always a big part of the run-up to Christmas, so I am very honoured to get my hands on this trophy.
“Hopefully I can challenge to get it again next year.”
Team Europe beat stiff competition from England’s Euro 2025-winning women’s football team and the England Women’s Rugby World Cup champions to win Team of the Year.
McIlroy’s long wait to complete a career Grand Slam ended in dramatic fashion. After surrendering a four-shot lead at the 2011 Masters, history threatened to repeat itself this April.
Holding a two-shot lead going into the final round, McIlroy’s advantage was wiped out by a double bogey on the first hole, bringing memories of past heartbreak rushing back.
Three birdies in seven holes restored a four-shot lead going into the back nine, but he dropped four shots in as many holes from the 11th.
The tension continued after he missed a putt in regulation, forcing a sudden-death play-off against Ryder Cup teammate Justin Rose, who had birdied six of his final eight holes. McIlroy held his nerve, birdied the first play-off hole, and claimed his first Masters.
McIlroy described the moment: “A lot of pent-up emotion came out on the 18th green. A moment like that makes all the years and all the close calls worth it.”
At the Ryder Cup, McIlroy contributed three-and-a-half points from five matches, helping Europe triumph on American soil for the first time in 13 years.
Despite facing verbal abuse from a hostile crowd at Bethpage Black in New York—including an incident where his wife Erica was struck by a thrown drink—he remained focused.
Having won six times in his eight Ryder Cup appearances, the world number two is being tipped to captain the European team in the future.
“I would love to be the European team captain at some point,” McIlroy said. “But that will be when I’m not good enough to make the team, or I make way for the new generation to come along.”
