Perhaps it was fitting that on a day when the heavens delivered a relentless drenching, Rory McIlroy added a final accolade to a year that has rained prizes.
The brilliant Northern Irishman banished his own barren spell of 11 years without a major when he grabbed the green jacket and the Masters on a dramatic April afternoon to become only the sixth man in golf’s history to win the Grand Slam.
A 12 months for the ages, even by his standards, also saw him play a key role in Europe’s stunning Ryder Cup triumph on enemy soil, pick up another Players’ Championship and surge to victory at Pebble Beach.
It had to be a formality. Thankfully, mercifully, it was.
At BBC HQ in Salford last night, finally, finally McIlroy also ended the sport’s own dry spell – stretching out all the way back to the 1989 year of his birth – when he became the first golfer to pick up the sinister-looking camera-on-a-plinth and become Sports Personality of the Year since Sir Nick Faldo.
‘Wow,’ he said simply, before congratulating the other finalists and turning his thoughts to his incredible year.
‘2025 has been the year that I made my dreams come true – from Augusta to the Ryder Cup and everything else in between. It really has been the year that dreams are made of.’
Rory McIlroy lifts the SPOTY gong, presented to him by 2024 winner Keely Hodgkinson
It really was. With hearts racing across the globe, McIlroy saw off the challenge of a resurgent Justin Rose at Augusta National after missing a crucial putt to set up a nerve-shredding play-off.
‘I didn’t make it easy on myself,’ he joked. ‘When you want something so much, the obstacle becomes yourself. I’ve had my chances at Augusta, I’ve been trying for 15 years, and the heartbreaks, the way it finished, made it even sweeter.’
More sweetness was to follow. Five months following his Augusta play-off victory, and back on American soil at a ranting, booze-fuelled bear pit at Bethpage, McIlroy was part of a Europe team that silenced the Yanks to land a first Ryder Cup on the other side of the Atlantic since 2012.
McIlroy had jetted in from Florida, where his side lost a play-off to a team led by Scottie Scheffler at the first Golf Channel Games, held at the Trump National. He will go back today with something else for the mantelpiece.
Rory McIlroy, pictured celebrating the Ryder Cup triumph, has had a brilliant year
‘My wife Erica, my daughter Poppy,’ he added. ‘They’re what holds me together, my rock. They couldn’t be here tonight they’re back in America but I can’t wait to get back to see them and celebrate with them.’
Red Roses World Cup winner Ellie Kildunne finished second, with F1 champ Lando Norris in third, but this was McIlory – and golf’s – night.
From Jupiter to over the moon in the space of 24 hours, thanks to his £37m private jet.
‘I suppose if I don’t win it this time, I never will,’ McIlroy had admitted in a recent interview. He had been here before. In 2014, he was an even bigger favourite, having landed back-to-back Majors.
The fact the victor that night was Lewis Hamilton, and that this went to a public vote in which petrolheads often rally, may well have played on his mind as he crossed the Pond with newly-crowned champion Norris the second favourite.
He had not attended the ceremony since that night in 2014. He did not send in a video message when nominated two years ago and did not appear remotely on the broadcast that night.
But after one of the best years of his career, he confirmed in November that he would be jetting in for this edition.
And in the shadows of his beloved Old Trafford, McIlroy did something he will hope he will see United’s players do this season, calmly lifting his trophy – the first man to do so after four years of female victors.
‘I remember growing up looking forward to this night watching on TV,’ he said, ‘seeing who’s gonna win, it was always a big part of the run up to Christmas so I’m very honoured to get my hands on this trophy behind me and hopefully I can challenge to get it again next year.’ Few would bet against him.
Elsewhere, the night started with emotion and perspective when two of the fathers of the three girls killed in the Southport attacks last year, Sergio Aguiar and David Stancombe, were handed the Helen Rollason Award after running the London Marathon.
‘I am just a dad keeping his promise to his little girl,’ said Stancombe. ‘It gave me the focus through the hardest of times.’
Former Arsenal star Thierry Henry celebrates his lifetime achievement award with his children
Thierry Henry picked up the lifetime achievement award, presented by his four children, ‘I’m French, but I’m a Londoner,’ he said.
Eyebrows were raised when it emerged that nominee and darts sensation Luke Littler, was not present because he was practising for the World Darts Championship – 22 miles away in St Helens.
Sarina Wiegman picked up the coach of the year award for the Lionesses’ second Euros triumph while Mondo Duplantis was world sports star of the year thanks to his dominance in the pole vault.
Young Sports Personality went to Lioness starlet Michelle Agyemang, while McIlroy and Europe’s Ryder Cup victors picked up team of the year.
