Mark Ferguson isn’t impressed that golf’s biggest star of 2014 didn’t get recognised at the annual prize-giving…
And the winner of the 2014 Sports Personality of the Year goes to…Lewis Hamilton.
Let’s get one thing straight, I’m a huge admirer of Hamilton and his achievements. However, I couldn’t help but feel an overwhelming sense of injustice as Rory McIlroy stepped up to collect the runners up trophy.
McIlroy had a truly remarkable 2014, winning back-to-back Majors – The Open and the USPGA – he then played a pivotal role in Europe’s Ryder Cup success at Gleneagles and finished the year as the world’s No1.
Those triumphs will be far more meaningful to the Northern Irishman, but the fact his achievements weren’t recognised is an utter travesty.
The script was already written; leading up to the ceremony, McIlroy was nailed on to take the top honour. The headlines were re-written as the public vote told a completely different story. Hamilton was the clear winner with 209, 920 votes – 86,000 more than McIlroy.
It was a result that shocked the world of sport and seemingly Hamilton himself.
During his victory speech Hamilton said: “I’m so proud and honoured to be among so much British sporting talent. A massive thank you to all the people that called in, I really was not expecting it – because dude [McIlroy], you had such an incredible year.”
Winning the Formula One World Championship on two occasions is no mean feat, but compared to McIlroy’s back-to-back Major wins, Hamilton had it easy.
Throughout the whole Formula One season, Hamilton had one serious challenger, just one. He had by far the best car in the business and was aided by the technology in the Mercedes garage.
McIlroy did not have this clear advantage over his opponents. When McIlroy steps out onto the first tee he knows he’s competing against a field of over 70 serious contenders. In terms of equipment, the sport is a level playing field and the outcome comes down to skill, nerve, and like every sport, sometimes a bit of luck, not who has the best car.
There was nothing lucky about McIlroy’s sublime summer of golf as he dominated the game and made history by becoming the first European golfer to win three different majors. In April, he will begin the quest to make that illustrious green jacket his and become only the sixth player in the history of the game to complete the career Grand Slam.
Will that be enough to secure him Sports Personality of the Year? If this year is anything to go by, probably not.
As long as the public have a say in the matter it won’t come down to personality or achievement; it will come down to who has the most exposure. In a time when participation in golf is declining, the BBC have withdrawn a lot of their coverage from golf and invested heavily in securing Formula One coverage.
Along with a number of other golfers, former world number one Luke Donald hit out on social media in reaction to the result. Donald tweeted: “Lot of angry people on my timeline… Unfortunately as long as SPOTY continues to be a public vote then this will continue to happen!”
Never one to keep his thoughts to himself, Ian Poulter also expressed his opinion on the award. He tweeted: “Absolutely ridiculous that @McIlroyRory has not won Sports Personality 2014. Huge respect to @LewisHamilton but come on.
“@BBCSPOTY has turned into a complete joke. It’s such a great shame. Huge congrats to @LewisHamilton, but he had 1 person to beat all year.”
Lee Westwood also had his say, tweeting: “Technology of the year goes to the silver and red dodgem!!! Just have to win all 4 next year @McIlroyRory!”
As the debate continued, McIlroy showed class and cooled the controversy on Twitter. He said: “Thanks to all who voted for me! Congrats to all the candidates and especially @LewisHamilton, thoroughly deserved and a worthy winner!”