Rory McIlroy’s former agent, Andrew ‘Chubby’ Chandler , has weighed in on the growing crossover between high-performance worlds, from McLaren’s bold entry into golf equipment to the widespread love of the game among top athletes including F1 star Lando Norris and Andrew Flintoff's Cricket coaching prospects.
In his latest chat with BOYLE Sports, who provide the freshest golf odds ahead of next month's Masters , Chandler shares his thoughts on McLaren Golf's ambitious launch, Norris's passion for the fairways, and why golf has become the go-to sport for stars across football, cricket, F1 , and beyond.
Chandler also touches on his long-standing connection with Sir Alex Ferguson and other cross-sport insights in the wide-ranging discussion.
South African Golfers
South Africa's LIV Contingent
It goes back to when you get paid the money they were paid, and then you get 20 rand to the pound; it's an awful lot of money, and they've set themselves up forever. Guys like Louis and Charl they've missed four years of their prime golfing lives to LIV . So when they are back amongst everybody else, they're actually nothing like when they left. Louis won The Open, Charl was a decent player, Branden Grace was a decent player. They are now slightly over the hill when they come back. And they've had it easy at the end of the day.
Switching Tours & Major Issue?
I would say so. I think it's pretty easy to see that the guys on LIV, apart from the odd one, aren't as sharp as the guys that aren't on LIV in the majors. There’s always going to be exceptions to the rule, but as a whole, they're not as sharp as the other guys.
Jayden Schaper
Yeah, Jayden is a decent player. He’s one of those small, statured little golfers. For him, being a very good player is harder than being a big, strong one, and he is a very good player, and he's obviously mentally pretty good too.
He’s the best one coming through in South Africa and Europe. Casey Jarvis is also a very good player. South African golfers quietly get on with it.
The Masters
Min Woo Lee
He's a really good player. I think he's got a technique, and he looks like he's got a decent personality for it. I think he will give himself a chance to win a major this year. When you think of Australian golfers, you had Cam Smith , but Min Woo Lee is sharper than him. If Cam Smith was playing a few PGA Tour events, he would be sharper.”
Danny Willett Win
By the time we got back to the house, Sir Alex had already been celebrating for about two hours. I mean, he was absolutely flying. And the first thing he said was ‘Congratulations, Danny . I had a lump on Spieth . Fergie was a proper legend that night. At about 1 am, when I thought he was going to bed, he was having a chat with Danny , he said ‘you've done well, but at United, it was all about winning the next one. Not the one you won, win the next one.’ That was what made United so successful during that period.
In hindsight now, Danny has won one major. I can remember Fergie that night pointing his finger at him; he was giving him this, and he was slurring.
Horse Racing
I Went To Cheltenham With Sir Alex
Yeah, we went to Cheltenham before. I went in a helicopter there with Jed Mason, who's one of his partners in all horses. We went in Jed's helicopter, and it was just as I signed Rory in 2007.
I sat in the back of the helicopter, asking him for advice on what to do with Rory because he managed Ronaldo . And he said, ‘there's a couple of things with the players that I insist on.” I try to stop them from talking to the press because they can talk too much and they say the wrong things.’ How right he was about Rory . How right he was.
Fergie Love Racing
He absolutely loves it. He owns a lot of horses with Jed Mason. He likes his racing, and he buys proper horses now; he doesn't mess about. He's spending a few quid on them. He’s got a few that he's got that he will think has a good chance at Cheltenham . He'll make sure they have something that can win there. Caldwell Potter is a decent one.
Carrick For Permanent Role?
I would think Michael is smart enough to speak to Fergie about advice. I think Fergie tries to stay out of it now. I mean, you know, he can't get much kudos for doing anything. He's better off just staying on the wing, and he goes and watches them to support the team.
Cricket
Next England Cricket Coach
I would think he is. I had lunch about nine months ago with his wife. She wanted to ask me whether she thought it was possible for her to manage their sons. I thought it was a no-brainer because she has a law degree. She’s lived for the last 20 years with a cricketer that's been managed and knew about dealers and understands it. There's nobody better to look after them. Nobody. They're not going to get exploited or anything.
They're both very good. The young ones are outstanding. Rocky is outstanding, and it was funny because she went off and she formed a little company to manage them. And within about a month, I got a text saying, I've just got my first deal for Corey .
Freddie Help Harry Brook?
I don’t know whether he would, but Freddie will be a very good coach. They are similar. Freddie has changed a lot; he hasn’t had a drink in the last four years. He’s doing well now. He’s a calm, regular bloke. Harry Brook is a fantastic player, but somebody needs to give him a bit of guidance. The incident in New Zealand and then lying about what he did was ridiculous. I watched him two weeks ago in an interview after England won a game.
He's got his sunglasses on before the game for the interview. England captains don't wear sunglasses for an interview. That isn't what you do, and that's not his fault. He just needs somebody next to him to say, just take your glasses off.
F1 X Golf Crossover
McLaren Into Golf
Well, they've got a lot of money, so if they put enough behind it and then make the right decisions, it's a good name, and they’ll have a chance.15 years ago, we were going to do a clothing brand with Rory and Ernie Els. That's unbelievable because you've got worldwide country club players with Ernie , and you've got the young kids with Rory. But then you sit down, you go through marketing, and then you realise you're up against Adidas and Nike. You've got no chance.
The budgets that Callaway will throw behind their golf club business would be absolutely unbelievable. TaylorMade have gone a different way because they sign top players and not by the masses. Callaway signed a lot of players, but McLaren coming into golf, it won’t be easy for them.
Does Lando Norris Like Golf?
Yeah, but there's hardly a sportsman in the world that doesn’t play golf. It's quite incredible. The whole England cricket team all play golf. Most of the football team all play. It’s a fantastic thing that everybody plays golf; we've got guys like Steph Curry playing golf. It’s very good for the game.
Rory Documentary
It’s cash, he loves cash. I think appealing to a broader audience is probably part of it. It’s like these boxers. Netflix play with all the boxers. It's all about cash and a wider audience.
Modern sport has changed so much since I was involved. I can even remember having a chat with Callaway 10 years ago. I said, you're wasting your money on golfers. You should sign up people like Niall Horan. People that go beyond sport but have an interest in golf and can play the game at a high level. With Callaway behind him, Niall Horan would have been a far better player than anybody turning pro at the moment.
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r agent, Andrew ‘Chubby’ Chandler , believes the defending Masters champion talks too much and is a gift for the media.
Speaking to BOYLE Sports , who offer the latest golf odds, Chandler has discussed several talking points in the sport ahead of The Masters starting next month.
Chandler also discusses Andrew Flintoff becoming England’s next head coach and his relationship with Sir Alex Ferguson.
South African Golfers
South Africa's LIV Contingent
It goes back to when you get paid the money they were paid, and then you get 20 rand to the pound; it's an awful lot of money, and they've set themselves up forever. Guys like Louis and Charl they've missed four years of their prime golfing lives to LIV . So when they are back amongst everybody else, they're actually nothing like when they left. Louis won The Open, Charl was a decent player, Branden Grace was a decent player. They are now slightly over the hill when they come back. And they've had it easy at the end of the day.
Switching Tours & Major Issue?
I would say so. I think it's pretty easy to see that the guys on LIV, apart from the odd one, aren't as sharp as the guys that aren't on LIV in the majors. There’s always going to be exceptions to the rule, but as a whole, they're not as sharp as the other guys.
Jayden Schaper
Yeah, Jayden is a decent player. He’s one of those small, statured little golfers. For him, being a very good player is harder than being a big, strong one, and he is a very good player, and he's obviously mentally pretty good too.
He’s the best one coming through in South Africa and Europe. Casey Jarvis is also a very good player. South African golfers quietly get on with it.
The Masters
Min Woo Lee
He's a really good player. I think he's got a technique, and he looks like he's got a decent personality for it. I think he will give himself a chance to win a major this year. When you think of Australian golfers, you had Cam Smith , but Min Woo Lee is sharper than him. If Cam Smith was playing a few PGA Tour events, he would be sharper.”
Danny Willett Win
By the time we got back to the house, Sir Alex had already been celebrating for about two hours. I mean, he was absolutely flying. And the first thing he said was ‘Congratulations, Danny . I had a lump on Spieth . Fergie was a proper legend that night. At about 1 am, when I thought he was going to bed, he was having a chat with Danny , he said ‘you've done well, but at United, it was all about winning the next one. Not the one you won, win the next one.’ That was what made United so successful during that period.
In hindsight now, Danny has won one major. I can remember Fergie that night pointing his finger at him; he was giving him this, and he was slurring.
Horse Racing
I Went To Cheltenham With Sir Alex
Yeah, we went to Cheltenham before. I went in a helicopter there with Jed Mason, who's one of his partners in all horses. We went in Jed's helicopter, and it was just as I signed Rory in 2007.
I sat in the back of the helicopter, asking him for advice on what to do with Rory because he managed Ronaldo . And he said, ‘there's a couple of things with the players that I insist on.” I try to stop them from talking to the press because they can talk too much and they say the wrong things.’ How right he was about Rory . How right he was.
Fergie Love Racing
He absolutely loves it. He owns a lot of horses with Jed Mason. He likes his racing, and he buys proper horses now; he doesn't mess about. He's spending a few quid on them. He’s got a few that he's got that he will think has a good chance at Cheltenham . He'll make sure they have something that can win there. Caldwell Potter is a decent one.
Carrick For Permanent Role?
I would think Michael is smart enough to speak to Fergie about advice. I think Fergie tries to stay out of it now. I mean, you know, he can't get much kudos for doing anything. He's better off just staying on the wing, and he goes and watches them to support the team.
Cricket
Next England Cricket Coach
I would think he is. I had lunch about nine months ago with his wife. She wanted to ask me whether she thought it was possible for her to manage their sons. I thought it was a no-brainer because she has a law degree. She’s lived for the last 20 years with a cricketer that's been managed and knew about dealers and understands it. There's nobody better to look after them. Nobody. They're not going to get exploited or anything.
They're both very good. The young ones are outstanding. Rocky is outstanding, and it was funny because she went off and she formed a little company to manage them. And within about a month, I got a text saying, I've just got my first deal for Corey .
Freddie Help Harry Brook?
I don’t know whether he would, but Freddie will be a very good coach. They are similar. Freddie has changed a lot; he hasn’t had a drink in the last four years. He’s doing well now. He’s a calm, regular bloke. Harry Brook is a fantastic player, but somebody needs to give him a bit of guidance. The incident in New Zealand and then lying about what he did was ridiculous. I watched him two weeks ago in an interview after England won a game.
He's got his sunglasses on before the game for the interview. England captains don't wear sunglasses for an interview. That isn't what you do, and that's not his fault. He just needs somebody next to him to say, just take your glasses off.
F1 X Golf Crossover
McLaren Into Golf
Well, they've got a lot of money, so if they put enough behind it and then make the right decisions, it's a good name, and they’ll have a chance.15 years ago, we were going to do a clothing brand with Rory and Ernie Els. That's unbelievable because you've got worldwide country club players with Ernie , and you've got the young kids with Rory. But then you sit down, you go through marketing, and then you realise you're up against Adidas and Nike. You've got no chance.
The budgets that Callaway will throw behind their golf club business would be absolutely unbelievable. TaylorMade have gone a different way because they sign top players and not by the masses. Callaway signed a lot of players, but McLaren coming into golf, it won’t be easy for them.
Does Lando Norris Like Golf?
Yeah, but there's hardly a sportsman in the world that doesn’t play golf. It's quite incredible. The whole England cricket team all play golf. Most of the football team all play. It’s a fantastic thing that everybody plays golf; we've got guys like Steph Curry playing golf. It’s very good for the game.
Rory Documentary
It’s cash, he loves cash. I think appealing to a broader audience is probably part of it. It’s like these boxers. Netflix play with all the boxers. It's all about cash and a wider audience.
Modern sport has changed so much since I was involved. I can even remember having a chat with Callaway 10 years ago. I said, you're wasting your money on golfers. You should sign up people like Niall Horan. People that go beyond sport but have an interest in golf and can play the game at a high level. With Callaway behind him, Niall Horan would have been a far better player than anybody turning pro at the moment.
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*Prices are subject to fluctuation
Remember, Always Gamble Responsibly
