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Stories
J. Hughes Norton III
It's early on a June morning at the Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland, the day before the U.S. Open golf tournament. Only practice rounds will be played today, but already groups of excited spectators are trooping up the curving, tree-lined driveway that leads to Congressional's majestic Mediterranean-style clubhouse.
On a nearby practice green, a solitary figure, virtually unnoticed, rolls 40-foot putts up to the pin as the fans and media stream by. It's last year's Open winner, Steve Jones. In an ordinary year, the defending champ would likely attract the lion's share of attention. But this is the Year of the Tiger, and the crowd is intent on staking out its hero. Golf, sports, and, some say, even American society will never be the same.
It's also been quite a year for Hughes Norton, Tiger Woods's agent. A 25-year veteran of the professional sports scene, Norton has witnessed the sports business explode from mom-and-pop status into a $150-billion industry. But he's never seen anything like Tigermania. "Wherever Tiger goes in the world, it's like the Beatles have landed," says Norton, shaking his head in disbelief.
Tanned and fit, himself an 8-handicap golfer, Norton is seated in Congressional's main dining room, his cell phone close at hand. As senior vice president in charge of golf operations at Cleveland-based International Management Group (IMG), the world's oldest and largest sports marketing organization, Norton will be working all during Open week. There will be endless meetings with tournament promoters and sponsors from around the world, with representatives from the companies whose products his clients endorse, and with Tiger and his other player-clients. "To be successful," Norton says, "you have to be able to juggle lots of different negotiations, be good with people, sweat the details, and work horrendous hours."
An intercollegiate golfer and hockey player at Yale, Norton had never heard of sports marketing until IMG founder and president Mark McCormack spoke one day at an HBS class on entrepreneurship. When McCormack made a return visit to HBS a few months later, Norton asked about a job and McCormack later signed him on. With no inkling of the sports revolution ahead, the rookie was off and running.
Twenty-five years later, thanks largely to television, the business of sports is established and expanding, especially in Asia, which, along with South America, Norton sees as the next big growth area for the industry. IMG has 77 offices and nearly 2,000 employees in 30 countries, dwarfing its competitors and offering its clients from the sports, arts, and corporate worlds a range of legal, financial, marketing, and support services. IMG also sponsors tournaments and events and does television production and merchandising as well.
Behind this boom, however, is the industry concerned about overexposure or a backlash against the enormous sums athletes make? On balance, Norton thinks not. "It wasn't so long ago that athletes were terribly exploited," he points out. "There is a pendulum; somehow, it's got to swing back the other way."
As for his most famous client ("He's more like my little brother"), Norton observes, "I think my key role now for Tiger is less about building the financial side: that remains important, but he's already set for life. Job One for me is to shield him from the hurricane, so that he can concentrate on achieving what he really wants - to be the greatest golfer ever. Making sure his God-given abilities are allowed to flourish - that's my ultimate responsibility."
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