Golfers get to enjoy a bit of time off around Christmas, although some of them will be straight back at it in the New Year with The Sentry, previously the Tournament of Champions, getting started at the start of January. With a purse of $20m it is easy enough to see why players are prepared to shake off any festive hangovers, whilst the stunning course on Maui, Hawaii is certainly not the worst place to try and clear any cobwebs away.
Of course, this time of year is perfect for looking back on the year that was, and for UK-based sports fans, BBC Sports Personality of the Year is a big part of that. In 2024, athlete and Olympic 800m champion Keely Hodgkinson won the main prize, with teenage darts sensation Luke Littler second and cricketer Joe Root third.
The current format sees six nominees selected by a panel of sporting experts, with these then put to the public vote. In 2024 none of the six “finalists” were golfers, but how have exponents of the world’s greatest sport got on over the years?
Golf at SPOTY: a Summary
Depending on your point of view, golf has provided a measly 2.8% of Sports Personality of the Year champions, or, conversely, is the joint ninth most successful sport. Given there are around 27 (depending on how you categorise them) different disciplines that have made the top three over the years, that latter rank is perhaps better than it sounds.
Sticking with those positive vibes, golf has produced more winners than snooker, rugby (league and union combined), horse racing and darts, all of which are relatively major sports in the UK and attract good audiences both live and on TV. So whilst fans of the sport may feel golf has not punched its weight in SPOTY terms, or been rightfully acknowledged, that is not really the case.
Keely Hodgkinson was the winner of the 71st award and thus far there have been two wins for golf as a sport. As said, that puts it ninth overall, level with swimming and eventing. The wonderful game of golf has also produced the sportsperson to finish second in SPOTY on five occasions. Only three sports can better that: athletics, F1 and football, with cricket level on five “silver medals”.
When it comes to third-place finishes, there have been two but again, that is better than it may sound as only six sports have produced more such finishes. Combining all that, golf can boast nine placings (top three), which is the eighth best of the various sports. In summary, with rank compared to other sports in brackets:
| Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 (joint 9th) | 5 (joint 4th) | 2 (joint 7th) | 9 (8th) |
Welsh Ace Dai Rees First Golfer to be Honoured
Way back in 1957 in what was just the fourth hosting of this award, Welsh golfer Dai Rees took top spot. As far as we know (some records are scant for the early years) he was the first golfer to make the SPOTY “podium”. He saw off F1 legend Stirling Moss into second, with middle-distance runner Derek Ibbotson having to settle for third, despite setting a world record in the mile.
Rees is not a name that will be familiar to many, even to older golf fans. He was born in Font-y-Gary in 1913 and never won a major championship, although he only ever competed in the Open. His career was rather disrupted by the Second World War, as he turned pro in 1929 and played in the Open Championship every year from 1935 until 1939. There was no Open until 1946 and he was a tournament regular until as late as 1967, though he played his last British Open in 1974 at the grand old age of 61!
He was runner-up in the tournament three times, with four other top-10 finishes, including a tied third and a tied fourth. He did, however, win several other tournaments, including some of real note, such as the South African PGA Championship and Irish Open, as well as two victories at the British Masters. It was matchplay golf where he really excelled though, and he won a record four British PGA Matchplay Championships.
This style of golf suited his game and his nature but it was not individual accomplishments that led to his SPOTY win. Rees is a true legend of the Ryder Cup and played in it nine times, his first two appearances a decade apart (1937 and 1947). He captained the side in 1955, 1957, 1959 and 1961, performing the duties again in a non-playing capacity in 1967.
The observant will have noted that 1957 was also the year of his SPOTY win and that was recognition of his brilliant feat in guiding Great Britain, as it was then, to a rare victory over the USA team. Golfers only played a maximum of two matches back then and Rees won both of his, helping GB to a first win since 1933. They would not win again (as Europe) until 1985, which really shows just how well the Welsh golfer and his team did.
Fabulous Faldo in 1989
Just about all UK golf fans will know the name of the second golfing winner of SPOTY, with Nick Faldo one of the greats of the game during the late 1980s and 1990s. He was a divisive, sometimes aloof figure during his ultra-focussed playing days, though fans would say he was misunderstood and misrepresented. Nonetheless, having won the US Masters in 1989 he saw off Frank Bruno and Steve Davis to win the Sports Personality of the Year award.
In 1988 he had had three top-four finishes in majors, having won his first, the Open, in 1987. He retained his Masters title in 1990, also winning the Open that year. Another Open in 1992 and a third Masters in 1996 took his haul to an impressive six majors. Only 11 players in the long history of the sport can better that tally.
Faldo also played a key part in Europe retaining the Ryder Cup in 1989 via an incredible tie, the man from Welwyn Garden City taking 2.5 points from five, losing just once. He was named European Tour Player of the Year too, winning four tournaments in all in 1989 and would become world number one for the first time the following year.