Rory McIlroy finished runner-up at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards
The world number one beat the likes of Real Madrid starlet Gareth Bale and world super middleweight boxing champion Carl Froch but lost out to F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton who took home the coveted award. He joins fellow Northern Irish golfer Darren Clarke who came second in 2006.
McIlroy losing out to Hamilton will come as somewhat of a shock. The county Down native has had a phenomenal year which included being a part of the winning European Ryder Cup team, an outstanding comeback victory at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth and claiming both the British Open and USPGA championship titles. He was one of the favourites to take home the prize.
However, there was some good news Irish golf fans tonight. McIlroy's Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley took home the Coach of the Year award.
