Phil Mickelson had a bad time at the most recent LIV Golf event; he came in second to last. Even though he has trouble on the course, he is still one of the highest-paid players in 2023.
Mickelson’s run in Hong Kong was very different from his sixth-place finish in Saudi Arabia the week before. He started off badly on Friday with a round that was 10 strokes over par. By the end of the event, he was eight strokes over, just beating Kieran Vincent of Zimbabwe.
With his 54th birthday coming up in June, Mickelson is trying out a new putter to see if it can help him get better. It hasn’t been a great start for him in the LIV season so far, though. He finished 51st in Mayakoba and 30th in Las Vegas.
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Mickelson can be proud of what he has done, even though he hasn’t yet reached his goal of winning the US Open and finishing a career grand slam. Beyond the course, he is still a big deal. In 2023, he was one of the highest-paid sports.
Forbes said that Mickelson made $104 million (£81 million) last year, making him the seventh highest-paid athlete. His deal with LIV Golf, worth about $200 million (£155 million), brought in most of this money.
And even though Mickelson made a lot of money in 2023, he is still not as rich as his old rival Tiger Woods, who was ranked by Sportico as one of the 50 highest-paid players of all time.
Following NBA legend Michael Jordan, Woods came in second on the list with career earnings of £2.66b (£2b), taking a spot behind the star. Arnold Palmer (ranked fourth) and Jack Nicklaus (ranked sixth), two golf giants, join Woods on the list. They came in ahead of stars like Lionel Messi, David Beckham, Roger Federer, and Floyd Mayweather.
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After taking inflation into account, Mickelson’s total earnings came to $1.43b (£1.1b), putting him in 11th place and once again behind Woods. Greg Norman, the commissioner of LIV Golf, is also on the list. He comes in at number 15 with a career earnings of $1.06b (£826m), which includes his work as a course designer, his job with the Saudi Arabia-funded breakaway tour, and his clothing line.
The other players in the top 50 are Rory McIlroy, Earnie Els, and Gary Player. Each has made more than $600 million (£468 million) in their careers. McIlroy, who is 34 years old, is sure to move up the list in the years to come, as he still has at least 10 years to be a competitive force on the course.
The fact that the PGA Tour is now giving its players stock options after a $3 billion investment from Strategic Sports Group earlier this year also makes McIlroy’s earning potential much higher.
