Andrew Chandler (golfer)

Andrew Chandler
— Golfer —
Personal information
Born 1953
Bolton
Nationality  England
Career
Turned professional 1974
Retired 1989
Former tour(s) European Tour
Professional wins 1
Best results in major championships
Masters Tournament DNP
U.S. Open DNP
The Open Championship T65: 1986
PGA Championship DNP

Andrew "Chubby" Chandler (born 1953) is a retired English professional golfer (European Tour) and current Managing Director of Cheshire-based sports management firm ISM (International Sports Management).

Golf career

Of Turkish descent,[1] Chandler turned professional in 1974; his first European Tour tournament was that year's Italian Open, which was also the tour debut of Seve Ballesteros.[2] He spent the following 15 years playing on the Tour, with his best season coming in 1986 when he finished 44th on the Order of Merit; he also had his best result in this season with a third place in the Italian Open. Despite never winning on Tour, he did have one professional victory, at the 1985 São Paulo International.[3] However, after another slump in form, he retired from the professional game in 1989.

Professional wins (1)

Results in major championships

Tournament 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988
The Open Championship CUT DNP CUT CUT DNP DNP CUT DNP DNP CUT DNP T65 DNP CUT

Note: The Open Championship was the only one of the four majors that Chandler played in.
DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
Yellow background for top-10.

Management career

After retirement from his playing career in 1989, Chandler decided to start a sports management business. He approached fellow professional golfers Derrick Cooper, Denis Durnian, Phil Harrison and Carl Mason, and agreed a deal to manage their careers, operating with an initial £10,000 overdraft out of a back room at Mere Golf Club. Soon after, in 1990, Chandler was approached by young amateur player Darren Clarke, who would go on to become one of his most successful players.[4]

The golf management business steadily grew throughout the 1990s, until Chandler was approached by Lancashire player Neil Fairbrother to manage the career of his young teammate Andrew Flintoff. Flintoff would go on to propel Chandler and his company into the spotlight during the 2005 Ashes series, while Fairbrother took a post at ISM himself after retiring from cricket in 2002.[5] The increasing success of ISM, and particularly the original golf sector, became apparent in 2010 and 2011; after the victory of longtime client Darren Clarke at the 2011 Open Championship, ISM had represented four of the last five major championship winners, namely Louis Oosthuizen, Charl Schwartzel, Rory McIlroy and Clarke himself.

McIlroy left ISM in the autumn of 2011, later saying that ISM took his career in the wrong direction.[6] McIlroy regretted his decision in 2010 to give up his PGA Tour card, and skipping the 2010 Players Championship at Sawgrass that year. Chandler's aversion to the PGA Tour was cited by McIlroy as one of the main reasons for their split.[6]

Notable clients

Golf

Cricket

Football

Snooker

Other sports

References

  1. ↑ "With a growing stable of stars, Chubby Chandler is the hottest agent abroad". Golf.com. Retrieved 2011-10-02.
  2. ↑ How the Jerry Maguire of golf became a major player
  3. ↑ Chubby Chandler's Widening Influence
  4. ↑ Chubby in the swing of success
  5. ↑ About ISM
  6. 1 2 "Rory McIlroy: Andrew 'Chubby' Chandler led me down the wrong path". The Guardian. 2012-04-01. Retrieved 2012-04-01.

External links

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