US Open champion Rory McIlroy dumps Chubby Chandler’s International Sports Management
Reigning US open champion Rory McIlroy, in a surprise move, has decided to ditch Chubby Chandler’s International Sports Management (IMG) and will shortly be joining ranks with Dublin based Horizon.
The move must be a big blow for the witty Chandler who is managing some of the shining stars of the sport including the Open Champion Darren Clarke, world number two Lee Westwood and Masters champion Charl Schwartzel. The young Irishman, however, did well
to pacify a possibly disgruntled Chandler on his exit.
"I would like to sincerely thank Andrew 'Chubby' Chandler and his team for their guidance, representation and management over the past four years since turning pro.” said McIlroy. “I have made great progress under their management and for that I will always
be grateful."
Horizon, the newly adopted sports agency, also takes care of McIlroy’s countryman Graeme McDowell, and there is a strong chance that officials at Horizon used McDowell as their anchorman to convince McIlroy for the switch. The 22-year-old Irishman has time
and again, showed strong nationalistic tendencies and at one stage even refused to join PGA Tour ever in his life. He later changed his mind and will probably be playing as member of both PGA and European Tours next year.
McIlroy and ISM’s relationship goes as far back as 2007 when the company decided to pick up the lad after his strong finish in the Open Championship playing as an amateur. The company also issued a statement, extending their best wishes to the world number
three for his future endeavours.
"It has been an honour representing Rory and we take great pride in the role ISM has played in guiding him successfully through his formative years as a professional golfer," the company said in a statement.
McIlroy is on a whirlwind tour of the world, playing on distant destinations all the way from Bermuda to South Korea. He has performed brilliantly throughout the season and has either won the events he played in or posted strong finishes to clinch the number
three rank on the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR). He won the US Open title at Congressional with a whooping lead of eight strokes in all, posting a wire-to-wire victory.
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