Each week we golf fans watch as professional golfers play on the world’s best courses for some massive weekly paychecks. Yes, it’s about competition and trying to be world number one but as is said in most every aspect of business… it is all about the Benjamins.
Many of us like to play for a few bucks on the course but our five dollar Nassau pales in comparison to what those guys that make a living on the course play for.
In February’s Golf Digest golf insider Ron Sirak gives us a look at the top fifty money makers in golf. He titled the piece The Bank of Tiger Pays Dividends. And oh yes, it has paid huge dividends to those he calls “Tiger Babies.”
Each and every player that plays golf for a living owes Tiger Woods a huge debt. Just as the generation before Tiger owes Arnold Palmer a debt for bringing golf into the American mainstream, Woods is owed a debt for sending pay checks into the stratosphere.
Consider this: In 19916, Woods’ first year on tour the winners share at The Memorial, a top flight event was $324,000. Last year David Lingmerth earned $1,160,000 at Jack’s Place.
The Travelers, a solid but average PGA Tour stop paid Bubba Watson $1.1 million last year. In 1996 D.A. Weibring took home just $270,000.
The “Tiger Effect” has minted more millionaires than Powerball.
But while the rank and file has reaped the rewards from the huge surge in purses, Tiger has fallen on hard times…well kind of. Not surprisingly, Tiger Woods isn’t in the top spot, as much as his world ranking as fallen so has his money making ranking.
For the first time in the 13 years of the Golf Digest 50 all-encompassing money list, Woods is not No. 1. That honor goes to Jordan Spieth, who is 22 years old and was 3 when Tiger won his first professional major championship, the 1997 Masters.
Spieth not only surged to the top of the Official World Golf Rankings he tops Sirak’s top fifty earners with a total of $53,030,485 with a little over $23 million on course supplemented by a nice off course stipend of $30 million. Not bad for a twenty-two year old.
Phil Mickelson was next behind Spieth with over $52 million with only $2.3 million coming from the course. It was a tough year for Phil but with $50 million in off course cash he’s not hurting.
Woods came in third with $48,551,098 with only half a million earned on the course. Sirak says don’t worry about Tiger,“Don’t feel sorry for Tiger: During his career, he has earned more than $1.4 billion—with a B.”
Click here for the full list and Sirak’s article.
A few interesting tidbits from the list. Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, long done with on course cash still rank fifth and sixth respectively. The King still pulls in $40,000,000 as he sits and signs autographs each morning. Man, that a lot of Arnold Palmers.
Bernhard Langer is the top Champions Tour player, that is actively playing, coming in at nineteen with over $9 million.
Charley Hoffman was a bit of a surprise going from Not Ranked in 2015 to thirty-seventh with over $6 million.
The topped ranked woman on the list is world number three, Stacy Lewis with $5.9 million. And that’s in a year without a victory on the course. Lewis has a few key endorsements that pay her $4 million a year.
Lydia Ko has to be the biggest up and comer on the list. The eighteen year old earned $3.8 million with her clubs and only $1.5 million in endorsements. I can see her manager going crazy with possible deals as she grows into her role as a world ambassador for the game.
Oh, it’s a tough life jetting around playing in paradise and carrying those big cardboard checks to the bank. But boy does it pay well.
Click here for a Top 50 Slideshow.
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Spieth truly is making airwaves in the golf arena, but then again he’s no Tiger Woods and I would go on to say that maybe not even as great as Tiger in his prime. But would he prove us wrong? That remains to be seen.