McIlroy says agent change was geared toward winning
Source: Agencies |
November 4, 2011, Friday
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Print Edition
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RORY McIlroy felt he was ready for a fresh start when he decided to leave longtime agent Chubby Chandler, a decision he said on Wednesday was the most difficult of his career.
"It's the toughest conversation to sit down with a person who's been there for you the last 10 years and tell him you want to change things up a little bit," McIlroy said.
In the midst of a breakthrough season, and just four months after his record-setting win in the US Open, the 22-year-old McIlroy surprised those around him last month by announcing he was leaving Chandler for Horizon Sports Management, a Dublin-based agency that also manages US Open champion Graeme McDowell.
The decision was a shock to Chandler, who never had an inkling his star client wanted to leave International Sports Management. Those searching for answers didn't get many from McIlroy at the HSBC Champions.
"All I want to do is concentrate on golf and win golf tournaments," McIlroy said. "I feel up to this point, I haven't won enough. I feel I needed to make a few decisions to change that."
He insists this decision was not made overnight, though he couldn't say how long he had been thinking about such a big change. It helped that he has known Conor Ridge, who runs Horizon, for many years and was impressed with how he handled McDowell.
McIlroy broke the news to Chandler on their way home from the PGA Grand Slam of Golf in Bermuda.
"The hardest decision I've ever had to make in my life," he said.
"Sometimes to go forward in your career, you need to make a decision," McIlroy said. "I thought it was a decision I needed to make. I felt like for four years, Chubby was the best guy. But sometimes to progress you need to have a different view and a fresh view of things. It's about me trying to play my best golf. That's all there is to it. With a new environment around me, it might enable me to play even better."
"It's the toughest conversation to sit down with a person who's been there for you the last 10 years and tell him you want to change things up a little bit," McIlroy said.
In the midst of a breakthrough season, and just four months after his record-setting win in the US Open, the 22-year-old McIlroy surprised those around him last month by announcing he was leaving Chandler for Horizon Sports Management, a Dublin-based agency that also manages US Open champion Graeme McDowell.
The decision was a shock to Chandler, who never had an inkling his star client wanted to leave International Sports Management. Those searching for answers didn't get many from McIlroy at the HSBC Champions.
"All I want to do is concentrate on golf and win golf tournaments," McIlroy said. "I feel up to this point, I haven't won enough. I feel I needed to make a few decisions to change that."
He insists this decision was not made overnight, though he couldn't say how long he had been thinking about such a big change. It helped that he has known Conor Ridge, who runs Horizon, for many years and was impressed with how he handled McDowell.
McIlroy broke the news to Chandler on their way home from the PGA Grand Slam of Golf in Bermuda.
"The hardest decision I've ever had to make in my life," he said.
"Sometimes to go forward in your career, you need to make a decision," McIlroy said. "I thought it was a decision I needed to make. I felt like for four years, Chubby was the best guy. But sometimes to progress you need to have a different view and a fresh view of things. It's about me trying to play my best golf. That's all there is to it. With a new environment around me, it might enable me to play even better."
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