Chubby Chandler Slams US Ryder Cup Pay Fuss: "Europeans Don't Care

Published on March 12th, 2026

Rory McIlroy’s former agent, Andrew ‘Chubby’ Chandler, shares his views on whether Ryder Cup players should be paid, arguing Europeans aren't bothered by the issue and that the US fuss was overblown helping explain Europe's passionate edge in recent matches.

Chandler firmly dismisses any upgrade of The Players Championship to major status, insisting it thrives best as a standalone event and a strong "taster" for The Masters, assesses whether anyone can stop Rory and Scottie, praises the form Justin Rose a nd analyses the state of US Golf .

Earning From Ryder Cup?

I don't think the Europeans are bothered about it and have no idea why the Americans made a fuss about it, because, at the end of the day, it makes no difference to them. They made a big fuss about nothing really. It’s one of the reasons Europe played with so much passion and intensity.

The first couple of days, the Europeans ' intensity was way up on the Americans . The Americans only got into it when they were so far behind, and the New Yorkers were turning against them.

Will Trump Attend The Irish Open?

You would expect Trump to go there; he has to go there. I mean, the R&A not giving him Turnberry at The Open is absolutely ridiculous. Turnberry is the best links golf course. I'm an absolute Royal Birkdale lover, but I think Turnberry is better. For the Open not to go to the best links course in Britain is just bizarre.

The one thing about Trump is that he invests an awful lot in golf. Not as much in the clubhouse, but his investments are always on the golf course. What he did at Turnberry was unbelievable. Right next to the sea, it's a great piece of work there.

Reception

Everybody all over the world, there's some people for him and some people against him. In America , it’s a 50-50 split, but some like him, some don't. The one thing about Trump is that he gets things done. Whether you agree with what he's doing is another factor, but at least he has a go and gets things done.

Would Trump And Mcllroy Embrace?

Absolutely, he would do that. You forget that Donald will have played with Rory three or four times in Jupiter. They're almost neighbours.

I've played golf with Trump , and he's one of those people that is amusing, but he's not trying to be. He's very generous. When the most famous guy in the world wants to play golf with you, you have to not like him to say no, don't you? I don't know how many times Rory has played with him, but I'll bet it's more than once.

Trump Loves Golfers

Trump loves golfers. He absolutely loves golfers. The President of America is a proper golfing nut, and there's nothing wrong with it. You're better off having the President of America like golf rather than not like golf. It gives golf a chance.

Should The Players Championship Be Upgraded?

No chance. Rory has played that very well because he goes around it, and he gives it due respect, but he never ever refers to the Players Championship as a major. Nobody else does, for that matter. It is what it is. It's a standalone golf tournament. Four majors and then there's the Players' Championship . It'll never be a major. I think it works quite well. It was awful when it was in May, but it's really good now that it's almost like the start of the season.

When I went to the Players with Lee [Westwood] and Darren [Clarke], it was great. We would do Bay Hill and have a great week there, and then you get in the car and drive two hours up a straight road, and you end up at TPC Sawgrass. It was brilliant. The Players could never replace the PGA Championship . It’s a complete standalone golf tournament, and it'll have a great field. The coverage Sky gives it is brilliant. It’s a good taster for The Masters.

Stopping Rory And Scottie

The grass at the Players is usually similar to the grass at Augusta . The Players puts golf in the spotlight. For The Masters, I don't think you can have a pick outside of Rory and Scottie , but Justin Rose has a great chance. For me, there are not more than 20 guys that can win The Masters.

We’re in danger at the moment of building up Rory and Scottie too much and not actually building up some of these guys that are coming through. There's a few decent young players coming through. Min Woo Lee is a really good player. Ben Griffin is a really good player. These guys need to force their way into winning a major and establishing themselves because winning one major doesn't establish yourself. If you win one major, you end up like Danny Willett.

Justin Rose

I would think Justin will have four shots at it this year, and I would think he's probably got another year of doing that because there's no doubt he’ll be at the Ryder Cup.

The way he played at Torrey Pines was amazing. He blew everybody away. When you read and hear about the lengths he goes to get the best out of his game, the personalised sauna RV that goes around with him, that would cost him £1million to start with.

US Players

Collin Morikawa is quite high up in the rankings, but you wouldn't cross the road to watch Morikawa . Scheffler has perfected being what he is. There's not room for many like Scheffler because you end up being the most boring golfer in the world. Unless you're as good as Scheffler, you actually end up being a boring player.

You want to see some of these other guys that are different. You need people that don't just play the game, like a Morikawa or a Max Homa. To me, it looks like they play for the money with the titles they win, but there is no flair. They go about their job in a very professional manner.

They just have games that aren't riveting. You've got to have people that play the game with a bit of passion and have a goal. Koepka has a goal. That's the difference. If you put Koepka against Morikawa , who do you want to watch? So you've got to find a few more people like that, and I can't think right now of the young Americans that play like that.