Chubby Chandler The Money Maker

We sat down with one of the game’s most interesting characters to hear his take on the world of professional golf

- Nell Tappin

Chubby Chandler is a man who looms large over the European Tour, both physically and metaphorically. His management company, International Sports Management (ISM), looks after 21 European Tour regulars including Major Champions, a Ryder Cup captain, talented young guns and established winners. When it comes to the business of top-level professional golf, Chubby’s influence is never far away. Neil Tappin met up with the former European Tour player turned manager at this year’s Dubai Desert Classic. With Tiger Woods taking his place in the field and the landscape of professional golf changing rapidly, it seemed like a good time to pick the brains of one of golf’s biggest off-course characters. What follows is an incredibly candid look at the state of professional golf...

When he plays, what does Tiger bring to a tournament?

We have a pretty good idea of that because of the event in Turkey – we promote that one. Only about 10 per cent of people in Turkey know Tiger but they certainly wouldn’t know anybody else.

When Tiger drove a ball across the Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul, that half an hour created something like $32m worth of media value. It was on 90 front pages around the world and that’s what he brings.

What’s really interesting is that as soon as Danny Willett knew Tiger was playing in Dubai, he wanted to know if there was any way he could play with him. He was so excited about the prospect. I know ticket sales went through the roof the day after they announced Tiger, and they’d already announced Rory, so it was definitely the Tiger factor.

Looking more generally at the state of the European Tour, there have been some major changes. What are your thoughts on the direction it is heading in?