World number one Rory McIlroy has been nominated for the BBC's Sports Personality of the Year award, the only golfer to make the 12-strong shortlist.
He is also the only nominee not to have secured a gold medal at this year's Olympic or Payalympic Games.
The 23-year-old was also nominated last year alongside fellow golfers Luke Donald and Darren Clarke, who won the accolade after victory at the 2011 Open Championship.
McIlroy's inclusion is recognition of a scintillating season, which included a record-breaking eight-shot victory in the PGA Championship at Kiawah Isalnd's Ocean Course.
His victory made him the youngest player since the late Seve Ballesteros to win two majors.
He took his form into the subsequent PGA Tour FedEx Cup play-off series, with victories at the Deutsche Bank and BMW Championships propelling him to an unassailable position atop the PGA Tour money list.
He then played an integral part in Europe's sensational Ryder Cup victory at Chicago's Medinah Country Club.
A string of strong European Tour performances would follow, culminating in triumph at the season-ending DP World Tour Championship.
His win in Dubai ensured he became only the second golfer - following Donald the previous year - to win both the PGA and European Tour money lists in the same season.
The Ulsterman - who picked up €5,519,118 on the European Tour in 2012 - also broke the record for money earned in a single season.
McIlroy's amassed more than €11,000,000 in combined PGA and European Tour earnings in 2012.
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