NEWS

Woods remains golf's top earner with no wins and losing several sponsors

By PA Sport
Published on
Woods remains golf's top earner with no wins and losing several sponsors

Despite a pay cut of $48 million and failing to win a single tournament, Tiger Woods again emerged as golf's top earner in 2010.

Woods' earnings took a dent after losing his swing and his marriage, but he still managed to make $74.2 million, according to Golf Digest magazine's annual list.

The No. 2-ranked player received just $2.29 million from tournament purses, with the bulk of his income coming through endorsements and appearance fees.

Woods, who celebrated his 35th birthday on Thursday, was down from a staggering $121.9 million in 2009 after he was engulfed by a scandal. The furor caused firms such as AT&T and Accenture to end sponsorship deals with the 14-time major champion, costing him up to $35 million in annual revenue.

He is however, still paid more than $60 million per year by Nike, Electronic Arts, Procter & Gamble's Gillette, Berkshire Hathaway's NetJets unit, LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton's Tag Heuer, Upper Deck and TLC Laser Vision Centers.

The Golf Digest list is compiled through interviews with agents, players, executives of companies involved with endorsements, industry analysts, plus the official money lists of the leading professional tours.

Phil Mickelson is second on the list, with total earnings of $40.18 million, with Arnold Palmer ($36 million) third. They are followed Greg Norman ($30 million), Jack Nicklaus ($25.17 million) and Jim Furyk ($23.58 million). Other prominent players on the list include Ernie Els in seventh ($21.5 million) and world No. 1 Lee Westwood in ninth ($14.73 million).