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Tommy Fleetwood has questioned the BBC Sports Personality of the Year ceremony for largely overlooking Georgia Hall’s RICOH Women’s British Open victory.
Hall became Britain’s youngest-ever female major champion this summer when she held off Pornanong Phatlum to win at Royal Lytham & St Annes.
In doing so, she became the first Brit to win the title since Catriona Matthew in 2009 and the first English golfer since Karen Stupples in 2004.
However, that still wasn’t enough to earn the Bournemouth-born golfer a place on the six-person shortlist for the main award.
Worse still was the coverage devoted to her landmark victory, as bunkered’s Michael McEwan noted on Twitter…
10 seconds.
That's how long #SPOTY devoted to Georgia Hall's RICOH win.
"Three Lions" played in full, of course.
What a joke. pic.twitter.com/auVP2IvCfD
— Michael McEwan (@MMcEwanbunkered) December 16, 2018
Tommy Fleetwood, who was at the event and presented Francesco Molinari with the World Sports Star award, was amongst those unimpressed by the credit given to Hall’s win.
Always a very inspiring night #SPOTY and grateful to have the chance to sit amongst so many sporting and life heroes. Very worthy winner @GeraintThomas86 ! However, @georgiahall96 gets 10 seconds of airtime for her incredible achievements ??
— Tommy Fleetwood (@TommyFleetwood1) December 16, 2018
At the time of publishing this story, Hall herself had yet to comment on the debacle – but, tellingly, did retweet Fleetwood’s tweet.
Plenty of others were unhappy, too…
so georgia hall didnt even get to speak into a microphone at SPOTY. it's an effing disgrace. i'll say again: imagine if she had won wimbledon. absolute joke
— James Corrigan (@jcorrigangolf) December 16, 2018
Absolute disgrace we are now into 15 mins of England football team who won nothing and Georgia Hall doesn’t get to speak. #SPOTY2018
— patrick kelly (@pat271049) December 16, 2018
Felt so sorry for georgia hall. She didnt even get to speak!
— Dave Craig (@daicraig) December 16, 2018
So Harry Kane bags a few penalties and gets a nomination for @BBCSPOTY but Georgia Hall beats the entire globe in an individual event and doesn't make the shortlist. #Wow #Whatadisgrace
— Gary Lee Melling (@theGMell) December 16, 2018
No Georgia Hall on the list…disgraceful.
— Nick Abbs (@lnabbs32) December 16, 2018
Very disappointed with SPOTY tonight, some British world champions got 10 seconds if they were lucky, Georgia Hall was mentioned in passing and the England football team who didn’t win anything about 20 mins plus awful singing.
— Trudy Feltham (@trudyfeltham) December 16, 2018
A complete joke Georgia Hall not on the shortlist of SPOTY.
— Graham Snelgrove (@GrahamSnelgrove) December 16, 2018
In the end, the award was won by Tour de France champion Geraint Thomas, with Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton second and the man who captained England to fourth in the World Cup, Harry Kane, third.
Georgia Hall’s #SPOTY snub – your thoughts
What did you make of the coverage of Georgia Hall’s RICOH Women’s British Open victory at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year ceremony? Leave your thoughts and opinions in our Comments section below.
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