International Sports Management is giving back to the country that has given it so many top clients as it announced its support for a new event on the 2013 calendar. “The Big Easy Tour presented by Stonehage” is a feeder programme for the full Sunshine Tour.
English-based ISM has the 2010 Open Championship winner Louis Oosthuizen, 2011 US Masters champion Charl Schwartzel and five-time 2012 success story Branden Grace on its books, and is now to back a new event on the Big Easy Tour this year.
“My association with South Africa goes back to my own playing days and I have always had a great affinity and respect for the country, the people and its sporting heritage,” said ISM managing director Andrew ‘Chubby’ Chandler. “I have great pleasure supporting this breeding ground of champions as it enters its third year.”
Chandler decided to lend his support when he and ISM’s head of golf, former European Tour winner Stuart Cage, noted how many of the ISM players had honed their skills in South Africa.
“Hopefully we will be able to help the next generation as they strive to bring their game up to the level required for success on the bigger stages in their country and around the world,” added Chandler.
Sunshine Tour chief operating officer Grant Wilson welcomed the backing from ISM. “The Big Easy Tour is an important building block in the success story of the Sunshine Tour,” he said, “and by creating new opportunities for players, ISM will add to the legacy of the game in South Africa.”
Sunshine Tour www.sunshinetour.com