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200/1 McIlroy capable of mounting late charge for SPOTY

| 12.09.2012

Rory McIlroy looks the only player capable of mounting a late assault on the Sports Personality of the Year award and it may be worth an outside punt on him at 200/1.

Ladbrokes are going top price on the 23-year-old claiming SPOTY honours and much will hinge on his success over the remainder of September.

Simply being a part of a winning European Ryder Cup team will not be enough to make McIlroy a serious contender, nor will pocketing the $10m for finishing the PGA Tour season at the head of the FedEx Cup standings.

But should McIlroy do something a bit more special at the Ryder Cup, such as hole the winning putt, beat Tiger Woods in the singles or finish the event with a perfect record of five points from five, there is a chance.

Should McIlroy do all three, which is not impossible, he could find himself among the Sports Personality of the Year favourites.

If the Northern Irishman wins the Tour Championship first to make it three FedEx Cup tournament victories in a row, this would enhance his chances further.

McIlroy has already won the USPGA Championship by eight strokes this season and his latest triumphs mean that by the age of 23, he has already matched the number of victories on US soil achieved by Nick Faldo throughout his entire career.

He is widely considered to be Europe’s greatest young talent since Seve Ballesteros and McIlroy possesses similar amounts of contagious enthusiasm as that once shown by the Spaniard.

Darren Clarke finished second last year, but no golfer has won the Sports Personality of the Year accolade since 1989.

McIlroy is almost a banker to achieve this at some point in his career, but the big question is could it be this December?

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing

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Author

Craig Kemp

Craig has written for Ladbrokes since the 2010 World Cup, having previously gained a Media & Sports Journalism degree and contributed to publications including the Racing Post. His main areas of interest are horse racing and UFC, but he is also an avid X Factor gambler and likes nothing more than indulging in a spot of Hip Hop Karaoke.