Sports Personality 2012: Rory McIlroy - "I've achieved more than I could have imagined"
From being in the winning Ryder Cup team to becoming world number one, 2012 has been a good year for golfer Rory McIlroy
As the only non-Olympian to make 2012's Sports Personality of the Year shortlist, Rory McIlroy is all too aware of the threat of his competition. "It’s an honor to be nominated on the BBC’s SPOTY list, particularly in a year when there has been so much success in Irish and British sport."
So how does he rate his own chances of winning the coveted accolade? "Obviously I'd like to win, but I think the competition is far too strong!" Indeed, after an Olympic summer the nation will never forget, it is easy to overlook Rory's remarkable achievements over the last twelve months.
"For me, it has been such an incredible season where I have achieved so much on a personal level. I set myself goals each season, and I’ve achieved more than I could have imagined this year. Namely winning another major and reaching the world number one they were big goals for. And now I can add wining two Order of Merit titles to my list, both on the European and PGA Tours, which have put the icing on the cake of what has been an amazing year."
His moments
Winner of the US PGA title, his second major, and member of the victorious European Ryder Cup team
What the commentator said
"Super-fast greens. Not sure that chip's quite going to make the journey... It's trying. Go on, get down the hill! He's holed it! Unbelievable shot!"
Who would be your Sports Personality?
"There have been so many brilliant individual performances in sport that it’s hard to pick a clear winner. But I would struggle to look outside the Olympics. Maybe Jessica Ennis or Mo Farah, I would say they have a good chance. They were big household names over the summer, stood tall under the pressure of a nation and I imagine will get a huge amount of the votes. But I’m also a big tennis fan and would like to see Andy Murray win. Andy winning gold at the Olympics was huge too, and that was a stepping stone to what he achieved in the US Open. A monkey off his back, a great player and hopefully the 1st of many Grand Slam titles for him."
Sports Personality of the Year is on 16 December at 7:30pm on BBC1.
