Chubby: I was in shock after Rory exit

RORY McILROY’S decision to leave International Sports Management left company founder Chubby Chandler in “shock”, the charismatic sports agent and player manager has admitted.

Speaking at the European Tour announcement that the 2012 Irish Open would be staged at Royal Portrush — where McIlroy shot a course-record 61 on the Dunluce links — Chandler said the US Open champion told him he was leaving to join Irish management firm Horizon Sports during a brief conversation on the way home from a tournament.

“We had two minutes in an airport lounge at the end of a nine-day trip,” Chandler said, in an interview broadcast on Newstalk.

“He said ‘this is the hardest thing I’ve ever done, I want to freshen up things and change my management company.’ That’s it, you move on and we’ve got new players, and he’s got a new manager, and he’ll win seven or eight majors as he would have done with or without us.”

Chandler, who in addition to McIlroy’s US Open win at Congressional last June, also enjoyed majors success with Charl Schwartzel at the Masters and Darren Clarke at the Open Championship in 2011, has since signed US Amateur champion and US newly-turned pro Peter Uihlein to the ISM ranks, and insisted he has moved on from the disappointment of losing one of golf’s biggest stars from his stable.

“It was a blow, and it was a shock,” Chandler, 58, said. “But like I say, at my age, having done it this long, you sort of get to understand that you win some, you lose some, but yeah, that was a big loss, but there’s been a lot of big wins along the way, and there’s no point in being down, I’m alive, kicking and moving on.”

Chandler has not been alone in discussing his relationship with the 22-year-old McIlroy. Women’s tennis world number one Caroline Wozniacki has been talking about her romance with the Irishman as she tunes up for next week’s Australian Open at the Aria International in Sydney. Top-seed Wozniacki had a first-round bye in Sydney and took time out from her practice under a blazing sun to talk about her relationship with men’s golf world number three McIlroy.

“It’s very difficult to keep our relationship private because everyone knows who we are,” she said. “People are interested. I don’t mind if there’s a camera here or there as that’s fine. But we do have a line where certain things are private. Something might come up and we say okay, we’re going to keep this to ourselves but the rest is no big deal. Like, we have little bets. We had one bet about who was going to win a tournament first, and I did... I think it’s great he’s doing so well. I’m happy for him.” Wozniacki declined to reveal her prize for winning the bet but hinted it could involve a photo of Manchester United-mad McIlroy in a Liverpool shirt. Wozniacki won a Liverpool shirt, signed by Steven Gerrard, on court at the 2011 Qatar Open. “I can’t tell you what I won,” she said. “I still have that ace in my hand in case he’s not nice to me! Rory and myself are big football fans but we support different clubs.”