Tiger and Charlie Woods on the course. (Image: Getty.)
former agent Andrew Chandler believes that Charlie Woods should heed the advice that gave him over Rory McIlroy.
Chandler managed McIlroy’s career when the Northern Ireland star was between 18 and 22, overseeing the star’s rise on the , a feat Woods Jnr is hoping to emulate in the next few years.
Charlie Woods, son of golf legend , is just 15 but has the best possible mentor in his father. In December, he hit while playing with his dad, they were pipped to the win by Bernhard and Jason Langer.
Charlie is considered a promising talent and has already tried to qualify for a PGA Tour event, but Chandler feels that Fergie’s advice to avoid the media and “cut off all the hangers on” over the next few years will steer him in the right direction.
“Number one, I have no idea really how good he is right now,” Chandler told . “You see him. Looks great. Bit flashy. Obviously got a great mentor next to him but that’ll be a hindrance as well as an advantage having to live up to his dad’s name. That’s pretty difficult.
“What I would say, I was very fortunate that in 2007 in the first year of looking after Rory I went to in a helicopter with Sir Alex Ferguson. On the way down, I said to Sir Alex that I’m going to look after his boy, Rory McIlroy, and I asked him for a few pointers because he looked after , and I asked how he went about it because he did a fantastic job.
“He said there’s two things with people like that. Don’t let them talk to the press much because they always say the wrong thing. Number two, I cut off all the hangers on.”
Andrew Chandler (R) pictured with a young Rory McIlroy (M). (Image: Getty)
Chandler has compared the Woods’ situation with and his son Rocky, who , under the tutelage of his father.
“If you can keep Charlie Woods outside of the headlines as much as you can, and you can’t do it all because the media are going to want to do this or that, but they never interview Charlie Woods ever,” Chandler added.
“You cut away the media from the young kid so they don’t get carried away. The difference between conceit and confidence is nothing. It’s really interesting how they’ve done that.
“I know Andrew Flintoff and his son Rocky is Charlie Woods in cricket. His son Rocky is playing for the England A Team at 16. I’ve seen interviews about him. Never seen an interview with him. You see stuff about him, you see stuff about Charlie.
“The longer Tiger can carry on doing that, and that’s really down to him and his team, keeping him under wraps for another two or three years and let his golf do the talking, the better.
“Dad will be a proper positive but also a negative to try and live up to his name.
“If you want to cut a player off from the press, you can do it. Someone has to say yes somewhere to let it happen. But I was very aware of it with Rory and you try to make sure he didn’t do press interviews where possible.
“Those 20-minute one-on-ones about when you think he’s going to win the Open, you don’t want that. That’s where Mark Steinberg and Tiger’s experience must come in.”