RORY MCILROY has taken another big swipe at the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year contest, saying he forgot he had even been nominated!

McIlroy was a surprise no-show after making the six-strong shortlist last month and did not even deliver a video message acknowledging his nomination.

It came at the end of a year in which the world No 2 won twice, topped the European money list for a fifth time, and spearheaded Europe’s emphatic Ryder Cup triumph, top-scoring with four points from five matches.

But when he was asked if his snub suggested he was not exactly blown away at being in contention for the SPOTY award, he replied: “Actually, I forgot I was nominated!

“So that’s how much I think about it. It’s a popularity contest, and I think that really, it’s just not what it once was.”

McIlroy, 34, has not been a SPOTY fan since he was surprisingly pushed into second place in 2014 – the year he won the Open AND the USPGA – by Lewis Hamilton, who had just claimed his second F1 world title.

And he said it was “ridiculous” when Ryder Cup team-mate Matt Fitzpatrick was not even nominated in 2022, despite his thrilling victory at the US Open.

Even if McIlroy managed to complete the career Grand Slam by finally winning the Masters in April, he is not sure if he would turn up at the end of this year.

He added: “I mean, I don’t know. That’s a hypothetical. Depends what my chances were of winning it, I guess.”

McIlroy does have a great deal of affection for the Dubai Desert Classic.

He tees off today looking for a fourth victory in the event that provided him with the first of his 32 professional wins back in 2007.

He grinned: “I feel like this tournament has been a sort of staple in my life for as long as I can remember.

“I actually debuted here as an amateur in 2006, so I’ve been coming back to this tournament for 18 years – over half my life!

“I lived here for a while, my first sponsor was from here, and my first win was here. So a lot of firsts for me in this region.”

And despite saying he wants to steer clear of the game’s unification talks, he could not resist hitting back at Sergio Garcia, who said LIV “deserved” much more than the two-month-long windows in the new global set-up proposed by McIlroy.

Rory countered: “Yeah, Sergio feels he deserves a lot of things! But it’s just very hard to align everyone’s interests in the game.

“The way I view it is a bit like Champions League in football, with all of the other leagues, or Tours, feeding up into it.

“There’s promotion and relegation and you have to earn your way in, and you have to earn the right to stay in, as well. That’s how I see the future.”