Despite historic achievements in 2025, Rory McIlroy is absent from the New Year’s Honours List amid HMRC tax review.
Northern Irish golfer Rory McIlroy was considered a favourite alongside Tommy Fleetwood and Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald, both from England, for a knighthood bestowed by King Charles III. However, all three golfers missed out this year. In 2025, McIlroy completed his career Grand Slam by winning the Masters, becoming the first European 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 was not listed 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), before being submitted to the Prime Minister and Monarch. According to a report from the UK Telegraph, the HMRC intervened in a manner similar to the historic delay in David Beckham’s knighthood due to tax issues.
Did Rory McIlroy intentionally avoid tax?
Recently named BBC Sports Personality of the Year, McIlroy was involved in urban renewal projects in Liverpool, Birmingham, and Sheffield in 2013, initially regarded as legitimate tax relief by authorities. Later, HMRC deemed these projects to be tax avoidance and is currently investigating whether they exploited the ‘Business Premises Renovation Allowance’ scheme to deliberately evade tax payments. At present, there is no evidence suggesting McIlroy intended to evade taxes.
Since HMRC has influence over knighthood decisions, ongoing tax investigations can prevent such honours from being granted. Neither Rory McIlroy nor the UK government has commented on this matter so far.