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McIlroy claims he is still 'very close' to Chubby

Rory McIlroy insists he has no issue with former agent Chubby Chandler © Getty Images

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Rory McIlroy insists he remains "very close" to former agent Andrew 'Chubby' Chandler, despite his surprising decision to leave Chandler's ISM company last month.

McIlroy, who is now represented by the Irish agency Horizon, has elaborated on some of the reasons behind his switch - revealing that he thought long and hard about making the move, before ultimately deciding it was what he needed to do to continue to advance his career.

"For four years I felt Chubby was the best guy and ISM were fantastic for me, but sometimes to progress you need to have a fresh view on things," McIlroy told the European Tour's official website, on the eve of the WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai. "It's about me trying to play my best golf and that's all there is to it.

"I feel like a new environment around me it might enable me to play even better and I feel like I'm moving on to the next stage of my career.

"Chubby's been there for me since day one and it was very difficult for me. I remain very close to him - it was a purely business decision and nothing personal at all.

"I've got all the time in the world for Chubby and everyone involved at ISM."

Meanwhile, current ISM client Lee Westwood believes he can still compete at the highest level of the sport, despite the rapid rise of youngsters such as McIlroy.

The 38-year-old finished fifth at last week's lucrative Shanghai Masters - but the four players who finished above him had an average age of just 24, an indication of how strong golf's next generation is.

While certain that the new crop will go on to win plenty of majors and confident a number of them will even follow in his footsteps and become world No. 1, Westwood doesn't see his advancing years as any handicap.

"I think that it's a game where I guess age is not such a big issue," Westwood said. "You can obviously play well into your 40s.

"The young lads that come out now in their early 20s obviously have a hunger for it, and they seem they are almost professional before they come out. They have played tour events, they have travelled the world, so it's not such a big jump for them and shock really.

"So it's no surprise to see them come out and play well immediately. You have the likes of Tom Lewis who won his third event on Tour in Portugal a few weeks back, Matteo [Manassero] that's won a couple of times already, and he's only 18. And then you've got the old guys like Rory and AK (Anthony Kim), who played very well last week, and (Seung-yul) Noh, as well, who are top players.

"One of them will surely be world No. 1 one day and they are all going to win lots of majors. But that's just the way it is in any sport - golf is no different. It's just that I guess the old men can hang onto it a little bit longer in this sport than they can in football where age becomes a factor."

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