Chubby Chandler hits out at Rory McIlroy

Rory McIlroy’s former agent has hit out at the world No.3 for allowing matters off the course to get in the way of his success on it. 

Andrew ‘Chubby’ Chandler, who represented the Irishman when he first turned professional, told the i paper that McIlroy has become a “mouthpiece” for the PGA Tour and blasted his decision to do a “walk and talk”, in-play television interview during the opening round of The Masters. 

“To me he has got carried away as mouthpiece of the PGA Tour,” said Chandler. “He is doing things he shouldn’t be doing and opening his mouth too often. The interview on the fairway [at the Masters], absolutely brilliant TV but not good for Rory McIlroy. 

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“You can’t be having a chat with a guy in the commentary box about the day and the way he is playing, or whatever, then get over a wedge and give it 100 per cent. You would never have got [Jack] Nicklaus doing it. You would never have got Tiger [Woods] doing it. 

“If you could see into his head back in the days when he was flying around Augusta there was nothing in there other than hitting a golf ball.  

“Now he has commitments with PGA Tour, where he has been groomed as a political figurehead, with TV, with half a dozen really big sponsors. And they take up time.  

“He now has Workday [a software company]. Workday put an ad on TV, that will take a day of his time. That clutter manifests itself on the course.  

“He needs to get away from a lot of that, and just trust his talent.” 

McIlroy was widely tipped to win The Masters last week and, finally, complete the career grand slam. Instead, he missed the cut and left Augusta National without speaking to reporters.  

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He subsequently withdrew from this week’s RBC Heritage.  

Chandler believes the pressure of trying to become just the sixth player to win all four of golf’s marquee tournaments means it’s more likely than not that McIlroy will NEVER win The Masters. 

“If you were a betting man you would probably bet against him winning,” he added. “He has made winning the grand slam a bigger thing in his head than it actually is. 

“He is not really driven by number of wins or number of majors per se, but he seems to be driven by wanting to win the grand slam. It’s a massive mental block and it’s getting harder and harder.”