Rory McIlroy has labelled Sports Personality of the Year a “popularity contest” and says he forgot about his nomination.
The Northern Irishman didn’t attend the award ceremony where he was a candidate with Mary Earps, Stuart Broad, Frankie Dettori, Alfie Hewett and Katarina Johnson-Thompson.
The four-time major champion didn’t win during the evening regularly shown by the BBC and he believes the event doesn’t have the same sparkle as previous years.
“I forgot I was nominated,” he said at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic.
“So that’s how much I think about it. It’s not – it’s a popularity contest, and I think it’s just not really – it’s not what it once was.”
McIlroy wasn’t even sure he’d have attended had he completed the career grand slam at the Masters last year – the height of achievement in the game.
“I don’t know. That’s a hypothetical. Depends what my chance were of winning it, I guess,” he added.
Golf and the Sports Personality Award haven’t walked hand in hand for what feels like a generation. Sir Nick Faldo was the last figure from the sport to win in 1989.
Several fans were disappointed to see Matt Fitzpatrick left from the shortlist in 2022 when he won the US Open.
Criticism is often directed towards golf’s lack of screen time during the ceremony itself, which is arguably indicative of the BBC’s approach to golf in recent years.
Last year, the BBC turned down the opportunity to show PGA Tour highlights for free and didn’t show any highlights from the Masters at Augusta National.
The channel no longer shows The Open Championship which many fans will look back on with fond memories of listening to iconic commentators such as Peter Alliss.
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“Just buy Sky Sports,” McIlroy said when quizzed on golf’s broadcast situation.
“I think legacy media is not what it once was. Terrestrial TV, print media, no offence, but we are transitioning into a different world.
“They want things on their phone. They want things on their iPads. It’s just different. The consumer now compared to the consumer 20 years ago is just very, very different.”
Highlights from the Rory McIlroy Dubai Desert Classic press conference
McIlroy reiterated his desire for a global tour when speaking ahead of the event he has already won three times in his career.
Last week, he described a world tour as his “dream scenario” which could include up to 22 events and 100 players.
“I think the opportunity here is global, and I think you’d be very naïve to not think that way,” he said on Wednesday.
“Especially if you see – even you look at the event at Kapalua a couple of weeks ago, which is supposed to be one of the big signature events and you see the ratings that that did on TV – I would say they were quite underwhelming compared to some of the other events.
“I think the opportunity here is global. Look, they are still massive events in America and I think they have huge history and tradition and they need to be kept. But there’s a lot of opportunity elsewhere.”
McIlroy has also expressed his openness to a LIV Golf format if it was similar to the Indian Premier League in cricket in recent weeks, played across two months with several stars competing.
His former Ryder Cup teammate, and former friend it now seems, Sergio Garcia bit back at these comments when speaking to the Evening Standard.
“I don’t think we want to be important for one month,” Garcia said. “We all deserve more than that.”
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McIlroy has now responded to the Spaniard’s thoughts: “Sergio feels he deserves a lot of things.”
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