Tiger Woods’ return to winning ways has boosted his overall earnings by more than $20-million as he climbs five places in the latest Forbes rich list.
The 15-time Major champion, backed by the likes of Nike, Rolex, Bridgestone and TaylorMade, moved up to 11th place in the latest list after boasting earnings of $63.9m, with a staggering $54m coming from endorsements.
Why staggering? He earned $43.3-million in total in the preceding year.
Long-time rival-turned-friend Phil Mickelson is second among the golfers with $48.4m. His numbers were padded by the fact that he walked away with $9m after defeating Woods in the much-hyped ‘The Match’.
Rory McIlroy is golf’s third-highest earner, albeit down in 32nd place. He earned $39m in the period with a $8m/$31m split between earnings and endorsements.
FedExCup winner Justin Rose is in 47th place, but is golf’s No 1 when it comes to earnings last year. The season-ending bonanza ensured that he added $18.4m to his bank account, with another $14m coming from signing a bunch of new sponsors.
The last golfer inside the top 100 is Jordan Spieth, who has been struggling to re-enter the winner’s circle. He is another to prove golf’s rich purses are merely one aspect of the game after bringing in ‘just’ $2.1m from the course to total $31.1m for the year…
Forbes top earners:
| Rank | Name | Pay | Salary/Winnings | Endorsements | Sport | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
#1 | Lionel Messi | $127m | $92m | $35m | Soccer |
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#2 | Cristiano Ronaldo | $109m | $65m | $44m | Soccer |
 |
#3 | Neymar | $105m | $75m | $30m | Soccer |
 |
#4 | Canelo Alvarez | $94m | $92m | $2m | Boxing |
 |
#5 | Roger Federer | $93.4m | $7.4m | $86m | Tennis |
| #11 | Tiger Woods | $63.9m | $9.9m | $54m |
| #19 | Phil Mickelson | $48.4m | $12.4m |
| #32 | Rory McIlroy | $39m | $8m | $31m |
| #47 | Justin Rose | $32.4m | $18.4m | $14m |
| #52 | Jordan Spieth | $31.1m | $2.1m |
