Extending horizons

TWO and a half years ago Conor Ridge was managing a group of promising young Irish golfers and wondering if and when he was going to break into the space filled by the massive International Management Group (IMG) or the International Sports Management Group (ISM).

At the time he was on no more than nodding acquaintance with Graeme McDowell. And it came as a surprise when the Portrush golfer asked for a chat.

Ridge readily acknowledges that McDowell’s arrival “opened the doors for us to get into the big time in terms of being able to build a network of contacts at the highest level of the game. You can’t do that unless you have the players to get you into the places where that network is.”