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Rory McIlroy will attend the Sports Personality of the Year ceremony for the first time in a decade despite forgetting he was nominated for last year's edition . The Northern Irishman has enjoyed a stellar 2025, winning the Masters in dramatic style before impressing for Europe in a historic Ryder Cup triumph. While the list for the BBC SPOTY nominees hasn't yet been announced, McIlroy is expected to be among the shortlist alongside the likes of Luke Littler, Chloe Kelly and Lando Norris. Speaking in January 2024, McIlroy was brutally dismissive of SPOTY, saying: "Whenever I saw the results, I forgot I was nominated. So that's how much I think about it. It's a popularity contest. It's not what it once was." However, the 36-year-old has now performed a U-Turn and confirmed he will be in attendance this December for the live ceremony in Manchester. McIlroy told Telegraph Sport : "Yeah, the plan is to go. "I have more chance of winning if I’m actually there and I recognise that with the audience the show attracts it could only be a good thing for the game. "I suppose if I don’t win it this time, I never will," he added with a smile. History appears to be against McIlroy, given Matt Fitzpatrick did not even reach the shortlist after winning the US Open in 2022. Indeed, no golfer has won the BBC award since Sir Nick Faldo in 1989. His best finish was when he was the runner-up to Lewis Hamilton in 2014 despite winning back-to-back majors and becoming the first golfer from the UK to do so in modern times. McIlroy could yet have another honour to his name before the SPOTY ceremony next month He is teeing it up in Thursday's first round of the Abu Dhabi Championship, the Tour's penultimate tournament of the season, and will then try to win a seventh order of merit title in next week's Dubai finale. Should he win in the Middle East, McIlroy would then be one off Colin Montgomerie's record. There has been talk that McIlroy's career could be coming to an end, as he prepares to turn 37 next May. While he doesn't want to retire just yet, he is planning a lighter schedule for 2026. "Look, I'm not getting any younger," he said of the wear and tear caused by golf's 'hamster wheel'. "If I want to play competitively for another ten years like Justin Rose has, for example, I have to remember that I'm not 23 anymore and I can't play that schedule forever. "So I think to try to have the longevity that I want to have, I'm going to have to cut back my schedule a little bit over these next few years to make sure I stay injury-free and I play up until the point that I want to."
