Sports Then and Now

Arnold Palmer’s fame and success transcended golf.

In recent years, golf has become increasingly popular, mainly in countries such as America, Australia and Great Britain. In this article, we are going to talk about the richest golfers and how they have accumulated their net worth. Moreover, you will learn more about their achievements in professional career.

10. Sir Nick Faldo

This charming Brit has had a fascinating career which saw him win six major tournaments. The knighted gentleman is worth $60 million. Nowadays, He generates his money covering the sport news for CBS Sports.

9. Ernie Els

His estimated net worth is $75 million and was acquired through golfing, designing golf courses and a winery he owns, the Ernie Els Wines. The Big Easy, as he is known in the golfing community, has held the #1 spot for 788 weeks during his career. He also holds the record for most weeks in the top 10.

8. Vijay Singh

When you hear the country Fiji, people usually link it with rugby and Fiji’s national team. One Fiji native, however, chose a different sport and in his career he has won three major tournaments.Moreover, he was ranked #1 for two consecutive years in the 2014 & 2015 seasons. Vijay Singh’s net worth is $75 million and this ranks him #8 on out list.

7. Fred Couples

The American has 63 professional wins, including the 1992 Masters Tournament. His great career has managed to accumulate $105 million in the Fred Couples’s bank account. Currently, Fred spends his time playing on the senior’s circuit or in designing golf courses.

6. Phil Mickelson

Mikelson’s stellar career saw him win 5 majors and ranks him second on the PGA Tour’s list of all-time career earnings. Interestingly enough, he actually makes more money from endorsements and in 2011, he was the second-highest paid athlete in the US. His estimated net worth is $180 millions

5. Gary Player

Gary Player is the International Ambassador of Golf, and in his tremendous career, that spreads over 6 decades, he has won 165 professional tournaments including the Grand Slam. The South African has also made money from writing books about golf, designing golf courses and other business ventures. His astonishing career has left him well-off with a net worth of $200 million. Read the rest of this entry →

Even though he hasn’t won a major tournament in five years, Tiger Woods is still the richest golfer in the sport.

During 2013 we have seen a number of golfers hit the sports rich list keeping themselves amongst the world’s greatest footballer, basket ball stars and boxers. Express Golf has been through the Forbes rich list to pick out the 2013 top 5 richest golfers and a bit of background info on how they achieved these earnings.

5. Brandt Snedeker
The Nashville resident golfer Brandt Snedeker holds the fifth spot in our rankings after a great 2012 where he won the PGA Tour championship which left him at a record high world ranking position of 4 at the beginning of the year. Its estimated that his combined earnings left him with around $19m with $17m of that coming directly from tournament purses and the remainder coming from sponsorship deals.

4. Ernie Els
PGA Tour veteran Ernie Els is still keeping up his position in the rich list with an increase in the sports rich list from position 91 to 78. Ernie Els might not have collected as much in tournament purse as Snedeker but a thriving course design business as well as some high profile sponsorship deals including one with Breitling ensures that he estimated endorsement and sponsorship earnings of $16m take him above the Texan with a combined estimated earnings of $19.5m. Read the rest of this entry →

Adam Scott and Angel Cabrera provided a memorable finish at the 2013 Masters.

The end of the 2013 Master’s really was a scene from a fairy tale. Only months after his excruciating Open defeat, Adam Scott triumphed; becoming the first ever Australian to win the green jacket. Angel Cabrera’s defeat (and the way he embraced it) personified golf.

‘Forward-Looking’
A twelve-foot putt has changed one man’s life forever. Scott’s life, however, was not the only one to change at Augusta. The infamous club had also transformed, allowing female members for the very first time in a breakthrough for women’s rights activists everywhere.

Jack Nicklaus has dubbed current chairman Billy Payne as ‘the most forward-looking steward the club has ever had’. To an extent, this appears true, as Payne has persuaded the committee to allow female members and has expanded the tournament’s outreach, a move that made Guan Tianlang a household name. Guan’s actions, however, and Augusta’s lack of perceived fairness, show how the club still has work to do to change its image and ‘get with the times’. Read the rest of this entry →

The biggest lesson to be learned from golf in 2011 was quite simply that the standard of the game and the levels of competition just gets higher and higher, not just in the standards set by the players but also with the tournament organization and TV coverage.

The re-vamped European Tour now known as the Race to Dubai has added a new dimension to European Golf. Although it possibly has some way to go before it begins to attract some of those star names from the US PGA Tour, it is constantly discovering new talent and it should be noted that it is four European players who sit in the top four places in the world rankings.

Top of that list is Luke Donald, who became the first man in golf history to win the money lists on both the US tour and Race to Dubai Tours. Four wins during the year and whole host of top five and top ten finishes, confirmed him not only as the best in the world right now but also by far and away the most consistent.

The young Ulsterman, who sits one place behind Donald in the rankings, Rory McIlroy also enjoyed an unforgettable year. The 22 year old won a first Major at the US Open, where he broke just about every record that is to be broken in that most prestigious tournament. That win came on the back of a hugely unfortunate final round at the US Masters in April where after three rounds McIlroy had decimated the field and the daunting Augusta course. We all know what happened to him in that final round, but the courage he showed from that disaster to win the US Open in such style was actually almost beyond belief. The lesson learned by all golf fans and players is that Rory McIlroy is going to be around at the very top for a very long time. Read the rest of this entry →

Despite a self-proclaimed return to health, Tiger Woods has not yet found a return to form.

Tiger Woods blames his alarming slide down the golf world rankings on his health, and says he feels better now than he has for a long time. The former world number one has undoubtedly had his problems over the last few years, with a knee injury the most recent issue he has faced.

Woods believes that now he is finally over his injuries, he will be able to concentrate on his golf, and getting back to his best. However, he isn’t off to a great start in his return after finishing 18 strokes back last week at the Bridgestone Invitational and then shooting an opening round 77 to make it likely that he will miss the cut at the PGA Championship.

“In order to win, I had to be healthy,” Woods said. “That’s what we’re trying to get to. Now I can go, now I can do the work.

“I can do the practice sessions, and I think that that’s the only way that my game will get to where I need to get to.” Read the rest of this entry →

It has been a frustrating year so far for former top golfer Tiger Woods.

Some bookmakers are offering odds of 16-1 that Tiger Woods will mark his return to golf with a sensational win at the Bridgestone Invitational this week.

The event, which begins this week, will see Woods make his first appearance in a competition since he limped out of The Players’ Championship after just nine holes, 12 weeks ago.

At such odds, Woods is considered by most placing free bets to be the fourth favorite to win the tournament, testament to his undoubted ability as a player.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, it is a Northern Irishman who goes into the event as favourite. US Open winner Rory McIlroy will be looking to put a disappointing British Open behind him, and remind the world that he is one of the finest players in golf at the moment.

England’s Lee Westwood is another who will be hoping to win this week – he is second favourite, just ahead of Steve Stricker.

But it is Woods who will no doubt be the main talking point.

There are many questions that cannot be answered until he gets out onto the course and shows everyone what level he is at. Read the rest of this entry →