Despite historic successes in 2025, Rory McIlroy is not on the New Year’s Honours List. An HMRC review appears to have stalled his knighthood.
Irish golfer Rory McIlroy was regarded, along with Tommy Fleetwood and Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald, also from England, as a favorite to be knighted by King Charles III. Yet this year, all three golfers were left out. In 2025, McIlroy completed his career Grand Slam by winning the Masters, becoming the first European ever to do so. At the 2025 Ryder Cup, the 36-year-old also shone with Team Europe, securing the team’s first away victory since 2012 at Bethpage State Park near New York City.
Despite these achievements, McIlroy’s name was absent from the 1,157 honorees on the New Year’s Honours List, which is first reviewed by the Cabinet Office and then by His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC), the UK tax authority, before being submitted to the Prime Minister and Monarch. According to a report by the British Telegraph, HMRC intervened, similarly to the case years ago when footballer David Beckham had to wait several years to receive his knighthood.
Did Rory McIlroy Deliberately Avoid Taxes?
Recently named BBC Sports Personality of the Year, McIlroy was reportedly involved in urban renewal projects in Liverpool, Birmingham, and Sheffield in 2013, which were considered legal tax reliefs by authorities at the time. Later, HMRC determined these projects constituted tax avoidance and is currently investigating whether the