The U.S. Open kicks off this week with Phil Mickelson ranked behind only the favorites of Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth with the oddsmakers to win the tournament. Few golf fans would be surprised to see Mickelson’s name near the top of the leaderboard on Sunday. He’s finished second in the event six times during his career, although never taken home the trophy. “Lefty” has often had to play second fiddle on the PGA Tour during the past two decades, typically in the shadow of Tiger Woods.
Mickelson racked up 42 PGA wins, including five major titles, since turning pro in 1992, but Woods’ tallies stand at 79 and 14. Mickelson was ranked second in the world for 270 weeks without ever reaching No. 1 (Woods ranked first a record 683 weeks). The next highest total for a player who didn’t reach the top spot is 39 weeks for Jim Furyk.
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Playing second banana to Woods has been lucrative for Mickelson with Woods’ popularity fueling an explosion in money on the PGA Tour since he turned pro in 1996. Mickelson’s $77 million in prize money ranks second all-time behind Woods’ total of $110 million. Mickelson has made more than $600 million in his career from prize money, appearances and endorsements, but he has never out-earned Woods, who ranked as the world’s highest-paid athlete every year from 2001 through 2011. But this year, Mickelson squeaked by his rival with earnings of $50.8 million over the last 12-months to lead golf’s top-earning players. Woods earned $50.6 million by our count.
Mickelson’s last win came two years ago at the 2013 British Open, but he continues to be a massively popular pitchman. He earns more than $40 million annually from appearances and endorsement partners Callaway,
Woods has missed six cuts in 14 events since the start of 2014. He shot a career-worst round of 85 at the Memorial Tournament this month in a cut he did make, and it topped his previous worst of 82 set in January. It is a staggering fall for a player who made a record 142 straight cuts over seven years ending in 2005. Blame injuries to his elbow and back, which hampered Woods over the last two years. His last Major win was the 2008 U.S. Open. The injuries dented Woods' bank account since he couldn't appear in his typical slate of overseas events where he racks up multi-million appearance fees. His prize money was only $600,000 over the last 12 months.
Woods did pick up new endorsement deals in 2014 with MusclePharm and India's Hero motorcycles. Hero also signed on as the title sponsor of the golf event Woods hosts annually at the end of the year in Florida. Nike remains Woods’ chief financial backer paying the 181st ranked golfer in the world more than $20 million annually. Woods' golf course-design business has picked up after multiple blowups. The first Woods-designed course opened in 2014 in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. His first U.S. course is set to open outside of Houston in October. Woods is also working on courses in China and Dubai.
The top 10 golfers earned an estimated total of $271 million in prize money, appearances, endorsements and golf course design fees between June 1, 2014 and June 1, 2015. Golf’s 10 top-earners made $238 million the prior year with the 14% increase propelled mostly by McIlroy’s ascent. Six golfers made the cut in Forbes recent look at the world's 100 highest-paid athletes. We excluded retired legends like Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, who both ranked in the top-five in Forbes highest-paid retired athletes.
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Companies love to attach themselves to PGA pros because of the strong demographics of the fans of the sport. Golf is a niche sport in many ways with only 2% of U.S. sports fans identifying it as their favorite sport, according to a December Harris Poll (pro football ranks first with 32%). But golfers are a rich demo with average household incomes in the $100,000 range and high disposable incomes to spend on cars, watches, golf equipment and more.
Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy ranked third with earnings of $48.3 million. The world's top-ranked golfer has been on a roll with five PGA victories, including two Majors, over the last 12 months. The wins helped him earn $16.3 million in prize money, as well as valuable bonuses from chief sponsor Nike. McIlroy replaced Tiger Woods as the face of
Jordan Spieth is one of the biggest gainers this year, ranking fifth with earnings of $19.8 million (Justin Rose is fourth at $20.2 million). Spieth shot a record tying 270 (-18) in April and became the second youngest winner of The Masters after Tiger Woods. He is now the second-ranked golfer in the world behind McIlroy. The win was worth $1.8 million in prize money, as well as lucrative bonuses from sponsors like
Spieth's appearance fees will soar after his Masters win and his off-course earnings will likely continue to move up. But he has some work to do to catch the big three of Woods, Mickelson and McIlroy, who all ranked among the 12 highest-paid athletes in the world and had combined earnings of $150 million over the past year.
