Despite historic successes in 2025, Rory McIlroy is absent from the New Year’s Honours List amid a tax review delay.
Northern Irish golfer Rory McIlroy was considered a leading candidate for a knighthood by King Charles III alongside Tommy Fleetwood and Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald. However, none of the three golfers received the honour this year. In 2025, McIlroy completed his career Grand Slam by winning the Masters, becoming the first European ever to do so. He also shone at the 2025 Ryder Cup, helping Team Europe secure their first away victory since 2012 at Bethpage State Park near New York City.
Nonetheless, McIlroy’s name did not appear among the 1,157 honourees on the New Year’s Honours List, which undergoes review first 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 from the British Telegraph, HMRC intervened, similar to what happened during footballer David Beckham’s knighthood process, which was also delayed for years.
Did Rory McIlroy Deliberately Avoid Tax Payments?
McIlroy, recently named BBC Sports Personality of the Year, was involved in urban regeneration projects in Liverpool, Birmingham, and Sheffield in 2013 that were initially considered legitimate tax reliefs by authorities. However, HMRC later classified these as tax avoidance schemes and is investigating whether these projects exploited the “Business Premises Renovation Allowance” program to deliberately evade taxes. Currently, there is no evidence that McIlroy intended to avoid paying taxes.
Since HMRC plays a role in approving knighthoods, such an ongoing tax investigation can lead to rejection. Neither Rory McIlroy nor the UK government has commented on this matter so far.