World number one Tiger Woods has cracked US$1.3 billion in career earnings with US$83 million in income last year, Golf Digest magazine reported.
Woods, a 14-time major champion, earned US$83,091,508, including an estimated US$71 million off the course and more than US$12 million in prize money.
The story says Woods’ winnings of more than US$155 million reflect less than 12 per cent of his career earnings, with US$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 endorsement totals above US$100 million a year, he has bounced back from a 2011 low of US$62 million in endorsement income.
Second on the Golf Digest list of 50 top earners for 2013 was Phil Mickelson at US$52,009,156, with an estimated US$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, an event where he is a record six-time runner-up.