'Such A Shame' - Georgia Hall 'Speechless' After Golf's SPOTY Treatment

Georgia Hall was 'speechless' following golf's treatment at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards

Georgia Hall
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Ross Kilvington
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LPGA Tour player Georgia Hall has become the latest figure from the golfing world to criticise the BBC's Sports Personality of the Year Awards following its shameful treatment of golf at the 2022 ceremony.

There were six nominees for the award; Ronnie O’Sullivan, Beth Mead, Jessica Gadirova, Ben Stokes, Jake Wightman and Eve Muirhead, however there was no space for Matt Fitzpatrick, winner of this year’s US Open title.

Hall took to Twitter to express her feelings on the ceremony and how the BBC failed to recognise golf yet again, saying: “Such a shame Golf doesn’t get the recognition it deserved yet again on #SPOTY @BBCSport@MattFitz94 just speechless.”

The 2018 Women’s British Open winner was snubbed four years ago, failing to get nominated despite becoming just the fourth female English Major winner. Following her snub, Hall's Major triumph then infamously got just 10 seconds of air time during the 2018 SPOTY ceremony.

The Englishwoman wasn’t the only one to criticise SPOTY, with Ian Poulter describing the awards as a “joke” while compatriot Justin Rose wrote: “One question @BBCSport @BBCSPOTY. What about @MattFitz94 and his @usopengolf win this year??”

Popular golf fan account Flushing It also voiced its opinion on the matter, saying: “Golf is one of the fastest growing sports in the UK, with players increasing from 3.6 million to 5.7 million since 2016. This year Matt Fitz became our first major winner in 6 years, yet the BBC don’t think he deserves a nomination for SPOTY. What a joke.”

UK Golf Guy expressed similar sentiments towards the lack of coverage the sport received: “The annual BBC Sports Personality of the Year show was on today. It lasted  2 1/4 hours. Golf featured for 64 seconds.

“Here is how they covered the 150th Open Championship, an English US Open Champion and a Northern Irish world number 1. Rather pathetic!”

Only two golfers have won the award, Nick Faldo the last way back in 1989 and this can be seen as more evidence of the struggles the sport faces, despite having a Major winner hailing from England for the first time in six years.

Ross Kilvington
Ross Kilvington
Contributor

Ross Kilvington is a freelance writer from Scotland who has had his work published by acclaimed publications such as Nutmeg alongside popular online blogs including the Gentleman Ultra, North Section and Engrossed in Football. Ross holds a passionate interest in golf and tries to play as often as possible, although having two daughters under the age of four means his quest to break 80 will have to wait a little bit longer. He writes about golf in his spare time, most recently having an article published in the Golf Memories anthology Mind the Links, which was released in July with all proceeds going towards Alzheimer charities. With a handicap that floats between 13-14, highlights are few and far between on the golf course, with an eagle on the par 4 16th at Kinghorn one that stands out (it doesn’t matter that it was only 290 yards!).

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