ISM Founder Chubby Chandler appeared on Golf Channel’s “Morning Drive” yesterday to discuss the Turkish Airlines World Golf Finals in Turkey. Chandler said he was “approached by the Turkish Golf Federation” about trying to put on an event. He said, “They were being unsuccessful with the efforts they had and I said, ‘What are you looking at,’ and they were looking for a seven to eight man field.” Chandler noted, “There's one gap in the golf market and it's actually to get the eight best players together, just like tennis does. The ATP Tour Finals are a massive thing. ... You have the top eight players, and for about the last month, everybody’s trying to get in the top eight.” He added, “I figured it would be fun to try and do the same thing in golf, to try and get the best eight players together at the end of the year and put on an event like that with very big prize money that people sort of played for, and we've achieved most of our objectives.” Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard said mid-October, when the tournament is being held, is a “very busy time” for both American and European players and asked, “Was this the only date you really had available?” Chandler said, “There were no good dates.” It was a “case of trying to get the tournament on in 2012, let people see what it was like.” He said he hopes people "will sort of look at it and go, ‘Wow, that’s different, that’s really good. I like it,’ and then it gets incorporated into schedules in 2013." Chandler: "The mess I have appeared to have made this year is only actually just one year. Next year it will be -- hopefully -- given a proper date where it doesn’t clash with anything and anybody and it becomes a good season-ending platform for golf because people want to see the best players play against each other in that environment” (“Morning Drive,” Golf Channel, 7/4).
