Rory McIlroy has learned that winning a personality contest is much harder than winning a major golf tournament.
Multiple media outlets reported Monday that the world's No. 1 golfer finished as the runner-up in the voting for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year. That honor went to Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton.
Rory McIlroy better now that Tiger Woods ever was, Colin Montgomerie says.
"McIlroy was the runaway favorite with bookmakers," The Independent reported, "but instead it was Hamilton who was given the honor at the Glasgow ceremony, as a reward for winning his second drivers' world championship."
The vote, according to the Irish Times, is done in public, online and by telephone. But the newspaper itself conveyed surprise at the results.
"The quirky nature of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year is such that nothing can ever be taken for granted, as Rory McIlroy has discovered to his cost," the Irish Times reported.
"McIlroy's on-course deeds - winning two Majors, the British Open and the US PGA, as well as dominating the money lists on the European Tour and the PGA Tour and topping the official world rankings - made him an unbackable, odds-on favorite to capture the silver plated four-turret camera lens trophy . . . but even he couldn't get his name engraved on the trophy as the final vote revealed, surprise, surprise, he had lost out to a man in a car.
McIlroy was voted runner-up to Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton who had outraced his Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg to the championship in what was effectively a two-man race. In the public vote -online and by telephone - McIlroy was left in Hamilton's slipstream."
The Independent reported that several golf figures rallied to McIlroy's defense.
"He's a great guy who takes his responsibilities as the world's No 1 player very seriously," said Paul McGinley, the European Ryder Cup captain. "We are lucky to have him. I don't know why he didn't win. I don't know what the issues are but I don't want to take away from Lewis Hamilton."
Fellow golfers Ian Poulter and Luke Donald both tweeted their dismay at McIlroy's snub on Twitter.
Obsolutely ridiculous that @McIlroyRory has not won Sports Personality 2014. Huge respect to @LewisHamilton but come on.
— Ian Poulter (@IanJamesPoulter) December 14, 2014
.@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. — Ian Poulter (@IanJamesPoulter) December 14, 2014
Lot of angry people on my timeline... Unfortunately as long as SPOTY continues to be a public vote then this will continue to happen! #Rory
— Luke Donald (@LukeDonald) December 14, 2014
There was no mention or speculation of whether McIlroy's public breakup with tennis star Caroline Wozniacki played a role in falling short in a personality award. McIlroy, who was to marry Wozniacki at the end of 2014, instead broke up with her over the phone in May.
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