Whether art mirrors life in the tough world of sports management is hard to measure and there are realistic elements of sporting life in the movie blockbuster, Jerry Maguire, where once fired from his employers, sports agent Tom Cruse sets up his own business. Albeit a small one man, one client company
Like many Hollywood California movies the Cruise story ends with the Cuba Gooding Jnr’s, Rod Tidwell character finally delivering his potential and the much sought after big payday for both men - but just before the credits rolled up. More importantly though, the story is about the mutual commitment between the athlete and the agent, which is the real story behind the Cruise movie and the money they both hope to earn.
To then see life mirror such art with the another Holywood golfing story at the weekend, involving a young prodigy from Northern Ireland, brought the word epic to a new level, as McIlroy not only won, he devastated the field at the Bethesda course. In doing so he left all sorts of records smashed in his divot marks, with the most notable being his age, improving on the feats of Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus. If only month weeks and months.
To see his Father, Gerry, and friends join him on the 18th, with his manager Andrew Chubby Chandler, and Stuart Cage, of International Sports Management, the images reflected much of the story in the Jerry Maguire movie. perhaps because sport is all about momentum and a year ago the talk was about Graeme McDowell, his Father and the Dublin based sports management company, Horizon Sport. This year it is someone elses turn.
Ironically McDowell joined Conor Ridge and Horizon in 2007, after a number of years with ISM, where it seemed he was not making the breakthrough he sought, for whatever reason.. Coincidentally or not, within three years GMAC won the Celtic Manor Wales Open and then moved on to Pebble beach, where he broke another record by becoming the first European winner of the us open since Tony Jacklin forty years previous.
Then, a bit like buses, Ridge was on the eighteenth green celebrating with another of his stable, Ross Fisher, who stormed the field at the 3 Irish Open in Killarney, adding to the second place of Gareth Maybin at the Ballantines’ Championship in Jeiju in the preceding May. Then on the final day at the Valderrama Andalucia Masters last October the battle also came down to Horizon players with McDowell and Maybin, with the contest ending in favour of Portrush golfer.
Over the years though the major golf events have been dominated by IMG World, a global agency that covers all sports, who in 2007 and 2008 saw Padraig Harrington win two Open Championships and a PGA Championship, with the runners up on two of those occasions also signed up to IMG World.
The company came about when founder Mark McCormack partnered with golfer Arnold Palmer many years ago to market the game of golf, establishing the first agency to exploit the value of the marketing value of the sector. Given the success of the company it was a natural starting point for Tiger woods when he went professional in 1996, and the place he remained until the recent departure of his manager, Mark Steinberg.
Although in the Chinese calendar it is the year of the rabbit in the golfing world it seems to be the year of Chubby Chandler and ISM, who manage manage the current Open Champion, Louis Oosthuizen, winner at St. Andrews, this year’s Masters Champion, Charl Schwartzel and now the US open Champion, Rory McIlroy. In addition, they also have the current world number two, Lee Westwood, along with another recent winner on the European Tour, Darren Clarke, on their books.
Having founded the company in 1989 Chandler, a former PGA European Tour professional retired from playing after fifteen years, starting ISM in a small suite of offices at Mere Golf & Country Club in Cheshire in the North West of England. At the time there were just 4 clients - Carl Mason, Phil Harrison, Denis Durnian and Derrick Cooper – and Chubby put into formal practice what he had been doing unofficially whilst he was still playing - 'wheeling and dealing'.
As Chandler was renowned for getting the best deals for fellow players on Tour for things like hotels, flights and car hire, thus reducing some of the costs of playing the European Tour he helped them all make savings - all proving crucial to make the game profitable. The step into management always seemed the obvious step.
For last years winner of the Race to Dubai, Martin Kaymer, Sportyard was the management company with an agreement signed in 2007, with the German believing they knew the demands associated with professional golf. At the time he was also “convinced that they are the company I want to work with in order to further my career.”
Certainly the partnership with Johan Elliot at Sportyard has proved successful given that it was only 2007 that Kaymer was the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year, and he ended 2010 as the World number one with a PGA Championship title. Not bad for a company founded in 1999 in Stockholm, Sweden.
These days Sportyard has offices in London, England and Helsinki, Finland and represents many Scandinavian players, Johan Edfors, Niclas Fasth, Mikko Ilonen, Robert Karlsson, Alex Norén and Henrik Stenson. Added to that list are Spain’s Alvaro Quiros and Adam Scott from Australia, who shared second place at the Masters this year.
But for Chandler it has taken closer to twenty years and in a recent interview he was candid about the way the business has moved.
"It doesn't seem that long ago where majors were a bit of a chore,"
"Our lads were finishing 20th, 30th but never getting in there. It was hard work. It even got to the point of me thinking, 'I'm not going to the US Open', although I always did. But now, we turn up and we've got live chances everywhere. I mean, it's incredible. Sometimes I don't know where to look."
On Sunday night he left Congressional with the US Open winner. But like any professional golfer, Chubby knows that momentum can just as easily disappear if you are not careful.
For the moment though he is enjoying the year of the Chubby.
For the moment though he is enjoying the year of the Chubby.
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