World number one Tiger Woods has cracked $1.3 billion in career earnings by leading the Golf Digest 50 with $83 million in income last year, the magazine reported on its website on Tuesday.
Woods, a 14-time major champion, topped the list for the 11th time in its 11-year history with $83,091,508, including an estimated $71 million off the course and more than $12 million in prize money.
The story says Woods’ winnings of more than $155 million reflect less than 12 percent of his career earnings, with $1.16 billion coming from endorsements since his pro debut in 1996, a figure that continues to increase even in the wake of an infamous sex scandal and ensuing divorce.
A Woods deal with Electronic Arts involving a golf video game ended at the conclusion of 2013 and, while he has not approached pre-scandal endrose-ment totals above $100 million a year, he has bounced back from a 2011 low of $62 million in endorsement income.
Second on the Golf Digest list for 2013 income was Phil Mickelson at $52,009,156, with an estimated $45 million in endorsements and other non-prize money income.
The US left-hander won last year’s British Open and hopes to complete a career Grand Slam by winning this year’s US Open.
Arnold Palmer, the 84-year-old golf icon whose popularity helped spawn the television riches of today’s players, was third at $40 million, largely from licensing deals in Asia.
Jack Nicklaus, who turns 74 on January 21, ranked fourth at just over $26 million.
Sweden’s Henrik Stenson, who won the US PGA Tour playoff crown and the European Tour’s Race to Dubai, was fifth at $21,444,670, with all but an estimated $2.85 million in off-course income from his prize