With Darren Clarke’s suprising victory at the 2011 Open Championship, Andrew ‘Chubby’ Chandler, Managing Director of International Sports Management, is now in the enviable position of managing the three most recent golf major champions. In addition to Clarke, Charl Schwartzel and Rory McIlroy, Chandler’s impressive stable of golfers includes 2010 Open Champion Luis Oosthuzien, Lee Westwood and Ernie Els.
Chubby got his nickname as a rail-thin teenager with larger than normal cheeks. Chandler is currently on a diet with a goal of losing 40 lbs. However, if his players continue to win major golf championships at such an unprecedented pace, the constant stream of victory meals may make losing weight unattainable.
Until recently, Chandler’s firm went nearly 20 years without a single major golf champion in its stable. The situation became even more dire last year when Graeme McDowell won the US Open at Pebble Beach. The Northern Irishman was a player Chandler once managed but the two had recently parted ways.
Chubby Chandler was a journeyman golfer who played 14 years of professional golf before looking to join the golf management business. “My dad was a travelling salesman and some of his easy manner rubbed off on me.” said Chandler. “When Darren (Clarke) came on board in 1990 I knew we had a business and when he asked us to look after everything that sort of became the template. We were coming back from celebrating his first professional tournament win in Belgium when I took a call from John Westwood. He told me about his son, Lee, and asked whether we’d be interested in looking after him.”
“Even now, when we’re looking after about 35 players, I still have a relationship with all the fathers and quite a few of the mothers as well. Sometimes it is important to speak to those close to the players to understand what’s going on.” said Chandler. Now with three consecutive major champions under his umbrella, look for a major push from Chubby Chandler for a fourth at The Atlanta Athletic Club this August.
