Tiger Woods tops yearly earnings rankings for golfers

Tiger Woods won no tournaments last year but still made more money than any other golfer in the world, Golf Digest said Friday in its online edition.

According to a tally compiled by the magazine on purse money and other income earned by players who play in major tours, Woods ranked first with 74.2 million U.S. dollars mostly from sponsorships and other revenue sources. His purse money, however, was just 2.2 million dollars.

Other non-purse revenue is estimated income suggested based on interviews with athletes, agents, sponsors and golf industry sources.

Woods ranked first in 2009 by earning 121.9 million dollars. Though his earnings declined about 48 million dollars over the past year, he kept his lead in the overall income rankings.

The decline in Woods’ income was more than the combined income of 40.1 million dollars, including 4.1 million dollars in prize money and 36 million dollars in other income, earned last year by Phil Mickelson, who ranked second in overall income after Woods.

Arnold Palmer, who turned 82 this year, earned no purse money but ranked third with 36 million dollars in non-purse income.

In contrast, Lee Westwood of England, who wrested the top ranking from Woods last year, earned 9.2 million dollars in purse money but just 5.5 million dollars in non-purse income to rank ninth with a combined 14.7 million dollars.

Among ethhic Korean players, Anthony Kim ranked 23rd with 8.3 million dollars. K.J. Choi 33rd with 6.4 million dollars, and Y.E. Yang 42nd with 5.5 million dollars. Among ethnic Korean women, Michelle Wie earned 4.8 million dollars to rank 50th.