Tiger Woods finishes 2010 as the richest golfer
Golf Digest has issued the list of top earners of 2010 and once again, Tiger Woods has topped the charts.
Ironical, but true. Woods is still the richest golfer in the entire golf circuit, despite performing poorly throughout the year. Woods, who celebrated his 35th birthday on 30
December, earned $74.2 million in 2010 despite a pay cut of $48 million after losing the endorsements.
Tiger made $92 million from endorsements in 2009 when he was at the peak of his career. His little secret of mistresses and infidelity at the end of the year resulted in his divorce.
Subsequently, big boys like Gillette, Cadillac, AT&T, Accenture and Gatorade ended their deals with the American as they feared it would spoil their image in the market. AT&T and Accenture alone cost Tiger $35 million in annual earning. To trigger the loss,
Tiger’s wife Elin filed a divorce and took $100 million in the form of settlement.
Apart from losing the endorsements, Tiger ended 2010 without a victory and surrendered his throne to Lee Westwood. Despite that, Tiger’s appearance fees and negligible finishes in the tournaments banked him with a fortune. Not to forget, his loyal friends
like Nike, Electronic Arts, LVMH Moet Hennessy, Tag Heuer, Upper Deck and TLC Laser Vision Centres did not leave him alone in his bad times and kept the deal alive. They paid him more than $30 million, which was a huge sum for a player whose career was at
stake.
The runner-up on the earnings list is US Master Champion, Phil Mickelson. The American cashed on $40.18 million. Arnold Palmer is third whereas Greg Norman and Jack Nicklaus are fourth and fifth respectively. The most interesting aspect of the list is the
rank world number one Lee Westwood got. The Englishman came in at ninth position with $14.73 million in earnings.
The earnings list was compiled through information provided by agents, companies and exclusive interviews with the players.
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