Golf’s Golden Age is often pegged as the 1960s and ’70s when Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Lee Trevino, Tom Watson and other Hall of Famers populated the leaderboards weekly. These five players won a collective 48 major titles during their careers. Yet, their dominance came before the money exploded in the sport, as they earned a combined $24 million in prize money during their careers (Watson, the youngest of the group, earned almost half the total with $11 million).
Golf appears to be entering a new Golden Age with a trio of young guns fighting over titles at golf’s biggest events and the No. 1 world ranking. The financial stakes have escalated dramatically thanks largely to Tiger Woods, who turned pro in 1996 and ushered in new interest and money in the game.
Jordan Spieth is one of the most recent beneficiaries. Spieth, 22, earned $20.8 million in prize money over the last 12 months and $52.8 million total, including endorsements and appearance fees. Fellow 20-somethings Rory McIlroy and Jason Day banked $42.6 million and $23.6 million over the past year. The three golfers have treated the No. 1 world ranking like a game of hot potato, swapping it nine times with each other since August. They are the three heavy favorites at the U.S. Open this week at Oakmont Country Club.
For all of the success Spieth, McIlroy and Day had over the past year, it is a 40-something who narrowly is the highest-paid golfer in the world for the second year in a row. Phil Mickelson, 46, earned $52.9 million by Forbes’ count with $2.9 million from prize money. Mickelson was the oldest member on Forbes’ annual look at the world’s 100 highest-paid athletes (Spieth was the youngest).
Mickelson enters the U.S. Open this week without a tournament victory since the 2013 British Open. The U.S. Open has been the sight of some of Mickelson’s most memorable moments with a record six runner-up finishes and nary a victory. It is the one big trophy that eludes the five-time major winner. His repeated heartbreak at the Open, includes blowing the lead on the final hole of the 2006 tournament with a double bogey when he famously uttered: “I’m such an idiot.”
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