Fascinating story in the Scotsman this morning. The piece, written by John Higgan, is an interview with Andrew ‘Chubby’ Chandler, a former tour pro turned manager. He dominates the UK scene, working with players like Darren Clarke, Lee Westwood, and more recently, Ernie Els.
Chandler’s comments seem to reflect the thoughts that most players will skip the Canadian Open, the event that immediately follows the British Open. As he says, no one is likely to play “nine weeks out of 11.” Doesn’t look good for the fine folks at the RCGA. Not only are they months behind on announcing a new sponsor, but their date on the Tour schedule hasn’t improved.
One player not likely to appear in Canada any time soon (remember when Els used to occasionally play at the Abbey?), is the Big Easy. But Chandler acknowledges Ernie likes to pound a few back every now and then.
will suffer. So Ernie was a challenge more than a gamble. But we treat him just the same as everyone else. I am brutal with him. I am constantly asking, ‘Would Tiger do this, or would Tiger do that?’ If you want to be number one in the world – and Ernie does – you have to prepare properly and sometimes that means saying ‘no’ to other opportunities.