Shane Lowry reckons Lewis Hamilton’s bulldog Roscoe helped the Formula 1 star rob Rory McIlroy of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year gong.

Reflecting on Hamilton’s surprise win over McIlroy in Sunday night’s public vote on the BBC, Lowry shook his head and beamed: “Hamilton won a load of votes by bringing the dog. Definitely. 

“When I saw that on Twitter, I said, that’s the biggest publicity stunt I have ever seen.

“Anyway I think Rory is happy enough with his couple of majors this year and he’ll probably get the chance to win it again.  

“Lewis Hamilton has obviously had a great year but that’s all about the car. It was him or his team mate who was going to win the World Championship.”

Lowry confessed that he saw little of the awards show anyway. Recently engaged, he beamed: "I turned on to watch the result but I was made to watch X Factor."

Clearly, he didn't get his hands on the remote on Monday night either.