Chubby's On The Rebound, Adds Uihlein To Stable
/Jim McCabe on Chubby Chandler, scorned agent to Rory McIlroy, winning the bidding/schmoozing war for Peter Uihlein of Oklahoma State, and the interesting decision the lad has made to start his career in Europe.
As for signing with ISM, Uihlein decided to jump into pro golf via the European Tour. Chandler not only has an incredible base of talent at ISM – Westwood, Charl Schwartzel, Louis Oosthuizen, Darren Clarke and Simon Dyson among them – but he has massive connections to tournaments from Europe to South Africa to Asia.
“It makes total sense,” said one agent. “Chubby is the master of consolidating, and he pitches this big family thing – and rightfully so.”
Uihlein explained his perspective: “The (European) Tour is aligned with the global economy. Those players who have played on the PGA European Tour and who are still members of the PGA European Tour make for a pretty impressive list.
“My goal is to be successful on the PGA European Tour, and I just feel the ISM team is well positioned to help me achieve my goals.”
**Ryan Herrington follows up and says Uihlein's coach was surprised by the move.
OSU men's coach Mike McGraw told Golf World that Uihlein informed him of his decision when the two met in person Dec. 12.
"When he came to me, I was a little surprised," McGraw said. "But he explained it, and I respected his decision. I couldn't fault him for it one bit. He gave us everything he had for 3 1/2 years."
Uihlein has competed in six professional events as an amateur during the past two years, making the cut three times with his best finish being a T-48 at July's British Open, where he earned low amateur honors.
Chubby's quote is even better.
"I am delighted that Peter is joining us," Chandler said. "It is a pioneering move by him. The obvious tepee would have been to try to establish his career in the United States, but having seen players like Lee Westwood, Charl Schwartzel, Louis Oosthuizen and Darren Clarke build careers by playing all over the world, including America, Peter has been encouraged by that. I'm sure that he will benefit enormously form the experience."
Or, like Rory McIlroy!
