Tiger Exceeds $122M In Annual Income, Tops Golf Digest 50

TIGER WOODS topped the "Golf Digest 50," a list of golfers' on- and off-course earnings, after earning a combined $122.7M in '07, according to Ron Sirak of GOLF DIGEST. Including overseas earnings and the $10M bonus for winning the PGA Tour's FedEx Cup, Woods won $22.9M on the course, while pulling in $99.8M off the course. The No. 50 position on the list, held by golfer STEPHEN AMES, surpassed $4M for the first time. Ames' $4.25M is up about 64% from the No. 50 spot on the inaugural list in '04, when golfer RICH BEEM held the spot with $2.7M in earnings.

GROWING WEALTH ON TOUR: Sirak notes CURTIS STRANGE in '88 became the first golfer to win $1M in a season. When Woods turned pro in '96, nine players reached the $1M mark and in '07, 158 players passed that milestone -- 99 on the PGA Tour, 15 on the Champions Tour, seven LPGA Tour players and 37 from other  tours. In '96, the No. 125 ranked earner on the PGA Tour won almost $170,000, while in '07 No. 125 MATHIAS GRONBERG won $785,180. Sirak writes in MLB, the "opportunities for added value are nowhere near what they are in golf. Only players of a DEREK JETER status get national endorsement deals. ... And baseball players don't get paid to design ballparks the way golfers do to design courses" (GOLF DIGEST, 2/'08 issue).

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