No one doubts that Tiger Woods is the most powerful person in golf. Who would be in second place? Many people would point to Theodore Forstmann.

Who is he? In 2004 he bought IMG, the uber-agency that represents Woods and many other top players. Another client is also a close friend - Vijay Singh. As was reported here in my November column, Singh recently bought an estate on Further Lane in East Hampton. You can bet that a big reason Singh bought here is to be next to his pal, Forstmann (who is known to his friends as "Teddy"), who has a handsome manse in Water Mill, though IMG is headquartered in Cleveland.

Theodore Forstmann with Fern Mallis, Vice President of IMG Fashion. Photo by PatrickMcMullan.com

First, some background on how big a firm IMG is and how it got there. Back in the 1950s, sports marketing was pretty much confined to famous athletes like Mickey Mantle, Johnny Unitas, and Arnold Palmer making some extra money in the off-season by endorsing cigarettes or household products. Mark McCormack changed all that. He graduated from Yale Law School in 1954, but rather than confine himself to the courtroom he took a fresh look at the sports landscape, with a particular interest in golf, having played on the Yale golf team (on the famous Yale course designed by Charles Blair Macdonald).

McCormack recognized the potential of sports as a way for companies to communicate with consumers, especially via star players, who of course did not have the skills or experience to market themselves. He founded an agency in Cleveland to represent and promote athletes. In 1960, he offered to become Arnold Palmer's agent, and the deal that would last until McCormack's death was sealed with a handshake. For over 40 years these two men never had a written agreement. The first endorsement arrangement that McCormack worked out for Palmer was to plug Wilson Sporting Goods, for $5,000 a year.

As most of us know, Palmer has become one of the most prominent and wealthiest pitchmen in the world. As he became the most popular golfer on the planet in the 1960s, McCormack arranged for more endorsement deals. His International Management Group began to expand – to other athletes, to foreign markets, and to other sports. But golf was the bedrock. Gary Player and then Jack Nicklaus saw what Palmer was raking in off the course, and they wanted a piece of that action. With the sport's "big three" in his stable, McCormack was in an excellent marketing position.

Beginning with the signing of Australian Rod Laver in 1968, IMG became big in tennis too. (The connection between Forstmann and tennis in a minute). With McCormack's personal charm and the growing influence of his firm, deals were struck with Bjorn Borg, John McEnroe, Ivan Lendl, Martina Navratilova, and Chris Evert (who just announced her engagement to golfer Greg Norman). Today, the IMG client roster includes Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras, and the Williams' sisters, and back in golf Colin Montgomerie and Sergio Garcia are also on board.

You can probably guess who the biggest IMG signing was. When he turned professional, Tiger Woods enlisted. The firm has taken very good care of him and Leigh Steinberg, Tiger's personal IMG agent, is part of the player's "inner circle" and usually is ranked on most powerful people in golf lists. Remember that $5,000 a year deal with Wilson that IMG secured for Palmer? It was McCormack who negotiated Tiger's $100 million a year contract with Nike. Also bringing in the dough is TWI, the IMG-owned TV unit that McCormack founded that now produces over 6,500 hours of sports programming every year.

McCormack died in 2003, and without such a strong leader the firm began to drift a bit. The following year, Forstmann came along. Thirty years ago, he started Forstmann, Little & Co., a private equity firm. He has had a controversial Wall Street career and was a central character in the infamous book "Barbarians At the Gate." He had been a friend of McCormack, and in 2004 he paid $750 million to his friend's estate to acquire IMG.

Forstmann, a bachelor who is now 67, not only likes money a lot but he likes women a lot, especially younger and beautiful ones. Over the years he has been linked to Princess Diana and Elizabeth Hurley. His takeover of IMG shook up the talent industry, and now among the firm's 1,000+ clients are Derek Jeter, Peyton Manning, Annika Sorenstam, and Forstmann's fast friend - Vijay Singh.

In celebrity golf tournaments, the two are routinely paired. Interestingly, the tournament that he personally runs is the "Huggy Bear" tourney, a very exclusive event at his Water Mill home every summer that has raised millions for charity. Thanks to his friend McCormack, and now to himself, he could get as participants over the years such players as McEnroe, Lendl, Sampras, and other big names that IMG represents.

Forstmann is involved in a slew of philanthropic causes, and it is a wonder that he has time for golf or even doing business. He co-founded the Children's Scholarship Fund, the largest charity in the U.S. that has offered over $200 million dollars to low-income families to send their children to the schools of their choice. He is on the board of directors of the International Rescue Committee. He is the only non-African trustee of the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund. (He is the legal guardian of two boys from South Africa). He has co-founded two camps for chronically ill children; and on and on…

But when he does have time for golf, as much as possible it is with Vijay Singh. The two have a friendship that goes beyond a business relationship. It is not surprising, then, that Singh bought a place in the Hamptons that is less than 20 minutes from Forstmann's manse.

Why would Forstmann not want to become the commissioner of the PGA Tour when Tim Finchem retires? Because power-wise, it could be a step down.