When the legacy of Tiger Woods is determined, his most important impact might well be the better athletes he attracted to golf. Woods did that in two ways: He made the game cool, and he made it possible to get rich – really rich – playing golf.
August will be the 20th anniversary of Woods’ pro debut, and in those two decades talented and compellingly athletic young people have chosen golf over other sports. The results can be seen on leaderboards every week.
The Tiger Babies are here, and they are taking over.
For the first time in the 13 years of the Golf Digest 50 all-encompassing money list, Woods is not No.1. That honour goes to Jordan Spieth, who is 22 years old and was 3 when Tiger won his first professional Major championship, the 1997 Masters.
Spieth earned more than $US53 million on and off the course [see chart] to lead the GD50. At more than $48.5 million, Woods fell to No.3, behind 45-year-old Phil Mickelson and ahead of Rory McIlroy, 26. Arnold Palmer, golf’s most enduring cash machine at 86, is No.5.
Don’t feel sorry for Tiger: During his career, he has earned more than $1.4 billion. Yes, billion.
The change at the top of the GD50 reflects new talent and new ways of marketing that talent. Instead of Woods as the clear No.1 and Mickelson the perpetual 1-A, a Big Four has emerged, connecting with their fans by taking to social media and digital platforms in addition to traditional advertising and media outlets. The arrival of the Big Four of Spieth, McIlroy, Jason Day (No.7 at age 28) and Rickie Fowler (No.8 at 27) could not be more fortuitous.
“With Tiger and Phil deep into the back nine, this young group came along at just the right time,” says John Mascatello of Wasserman Media Group, which represents Day and Fowler.
“You can never rule out anything with Tiger because he is just an incredible athlete,” Mascatello says, “but because you no longer have to rest on any one person’s shoulder, I think the game is well positioned.”
Because of Woods, who also brought a focus on fitness, pro golfers are bigger, younger, stronger, better, more confident and richer than ever before.
In addition to the Big Four, this year’s GD50 includes No.22 Hideki Matsuyama, No.34 Ryo Ishikawa, No.36 Patrick Reed, No.46 Danny Lee, No.47 Lydia Ko, No.48 Sangmoon Bae and No.50 Paula Creamer. All are in their 20s – except Ko, who is just 18. Poised to possibly move into the GD50 next year are players like Justin Thomas and Daniel Berger, both 22; Inbee Park, 27; and Robert Streb, 28.
“There is no question professional golf is as healthy as it’s been in my 25 years in the game, both from an entertainment point of view and a commercial point of view,” says Clarke Jones, managing director of the Americas for IMG, which has Ko, Matsuyama and Creamer among its clients, along with Palmer.
Think of it: Day was 9 when Woods won that 1997 Masters, McIlroy was 7 and Ko was born 11 days after Tiger slipped on his first of four green jackets.
The depth of talent in men’s golf was demonstrated last summer when McIlroy missed time with an ankle injury.
“When Rory got hurt, instead of the PGA Championship and the [FedEx Cup] Playoffs being uninteresting, Jason won two of the playoff events [plus the PGA Championship], Rickie one and Spieth the other,” Mascatello says. “The No.1 player couldn’t play for six weeks, and there was more attention to the game than ever. It’s like having depth on your roster in winning a Super Bowl.”
That was not always the case when Woods was at the top and fan interest tended to wane when he was injured or playing poorly. For decades, golf positioned itself as a sport whose value was defined not by the size of its audience but by the quality of those fans – a demographic with buying power. In the heady early days of Tiger-generated TV ratings, golf got taken out of its game plan.
“Tiger got golf off message, but we all got swept up in it,” says one business insider, speaking not for attribution because he does business with the US PGA Tour. “They got very fortunate that Jordan came along with his squeaky-clean image. Rickie gets it in terms of the media, the public and sponsors. Jason got his act together. But I still think Rory will be the guy.”
Despite not winning a Major in 2015, McIlroy won twice on the US PGA Tour, including the WGC-Cadillac Match Play, and three times on the European Tour, including the DP World Tour Championship.
Spieth had five US PGA Tour wins, including the Masters and the US Open; Day had the PGA Championship, The Barclays and the BMW Championship among his five tour wins; Fowler earned titles at the Players and the Deutsche Bank; and Zach Johnson, who is No.15 on the GD50, won the British Open for his second Major and 12th career victory.
“In terms of entertainment and growing the game, we have some really good kids: Rickie, Rory, Jordan and Jason,” says the business insider. “The consumer wants good guys. That’s who these kids are.”
Agents even speak glowingly of clients who are not their own, realising their greatness will lift the entire golf market the way Woods helped make money for everyone associated with the game. Spieth is represented by Lagardère Unlimited, Johnson is at Wasserman with Day and Fowler, and McIlroy is the sole client at Rory McIlroy Inc.
Before Tiger, the leading money-winner on the US PGA Tour made barely more than the average Major League Baseball player. Woods changed all that. He helped quintuple US PGA Tour purses and brought in new sponsors like financial institutions, electronics, pharmaceuticals and petrochemicals.
“The amount of money that companies looked to spend in the sport increased, the number of nonendemic industries grew with Tiger playing professionally, the endemics took a whole different view of the sport, Nike actually got into the golf business, the game became more global,” says Mark Steinberg of Excel Sports Management, which represents Berger and Thomas in addition to Woods and GD50-ranked Justin Rose and Matt Kuchar.
In 1995, the year before Woods turned pro, Greg Norman led the US PGA Tour money list with $1.6 million. Last year, Spieth earned more than $23 million on the golf course, including official and unofficial money and his $10 million
FedEx Cup bonus, an addition to the tour during the Woods era.
Spieth also earned $30 million off the course. And there is no arena of sports marketing not open to golfers.
“Look at Patrick Rodgers,” Mascatello says. “He has a relationship with the (NFL franchise) Indianapolis Colts. He’s from Indiana, is a Colts guy; it was a natural progression. Rickie Fowler is with Farmers Insurance and Quicken Loans, but also Red Bull, which hadn’t been in the golf game. It used to be branding and client entertainment. Now with social media you can have a corporate relationship without wearing a logo or showing up at a golf outing. Like Rickie and Mercedes are doing some digital things together, but with no logo on him.”
The new generation is connecting with sponsors and consumers in the same way it connects with fans and friends – on smartphones. “It’s their way of life,” Steinberg says. “Companies now ask, ‘What is your following; will you be willing to tweet X amount of times for our brand?’ etc. Those were not the questions being asked in the ’90s. Times have changed, and the next generation evolved with that change.”
Spieth’s Big Deal
Sitting at the top of that marketing and performance pyramid is Spieth, who signed a 10-year contract extension with Under Armour even before he won two Majors in 2015. “Both parties went into this knowing he would win Major championships, and we built that into this unprecedented relationship,” says Jay Danzi, who represents Spieth for Lagardère. “Jordan’s bought into a brand strategy from the beginning, and people are getting to see what an amazing person he is.”
Adds David M. Carter, founder of The Sports Business Group: “[Spieth’s] approachability and likability will go a long way with a wide range of consumers and fans who have been consistently disappointed by other superstars.”
In November, when Spieth travelled to the Australian Open, Under Armour was all over it, setting up a junior clinic there under the slogan “Rule Yourself” and promoting it on Instagram, Twitter and its website.
It’s a new world of marketing in pro golf and a new galaxy of stars, with compelling rivalries that might extend beyond the Big Four. A new era seems to have golf in a very good place.
Golf Digest 50
On-course income for 2015 is listed in US dollars and includes all money earned on the US PGA Tour and the five international tours (Japan PGA, PGA European, Australasian, Southern Africa, Asian) and the Champions Tour, LPGA Tour, Ladies European Tour and the Japan LPGA through November 22. It includes unofficial money won in non tour events. off-course income includes estimates of all money earned from endorsements, bonuses, appearance fees, corporate outings, speaking engagements, licensing fees (video games, trading cards, etc.), course architecture, books, instructional videos and businesses that capitalise on a person’s status as a player, such as product lines including clothing, wine and turfgrass. Investment income is not included.
[table]Name,Previous Rank,On Course,Off Course,Total
1. Jordan Spieth,16,$23 030 465,$30 000 000,$53 030 465
2. Phil Mickelson,2,$2 301 730,$50 000 000,$52 301 730
3. Tiger Woods,1,$551 098,$48 000 000,$48 551 098
4. Rory McIlroy,3,$9 468 190,$37 500 000,$46 968 190
5. Arnold Palmer,4,—,$40 000 000,$40 000 000
6. Jack Nicklaus,5,$41 500,$22 000 000,$22 041 500
7. Jason Day,28,$11 938 330,$7 500 000,$19 438 330
8. Rickie Fowler,12,$8 254 416,$9 000 000,$17 254 416
9. Justin Rose,7,$7 119 762,$8 000 000,$15 119 762
10. Gary Player,11,—,$15 000 000,$15 000 000
11. Bubba Watson,10,$8 289 297,$6 000 000,$14 289 297
12. Henrik Stenson,18,$8 513 827,$5 000 000,$13 513 827
13. Dustin Johnson,22,$6 209 467,$6 000 000,$12 209 467
14. Greg Norman,17,—,$12 000 000,$12 000 000
15. Zach Johnson,29,$5 728 154,$5 500 000,$11 228 154
16. Sergio Garcia,8,$2 917 143,$7 500 000,$10 417 143
17. Jim Furyk,13,$4 112 664,$5 750 000,$9 862 664
18. Adam Scott,9,$1 494 529,$8 000 000,$9 494 529
19. Bernhard Langer,20,$3 562 370,$5 750 000,$9 312 370
20. Matt Kuchar,14,$3 810 304,$5 500 000,$9 310 304
21. Colin Montgomerie,24,$2 666 177,$6 500 000,$9 166 177
22. Hideki Matsuyama,36,$4 121 146,$5 000 000,$9 121 146
23. Ernie Els,15,$521 154,$8 000 000,$8 521 154
24. Tom Watson,33,$408 751,$7 500 000,$7 908 751
25. Nick Faldo,35,$47 275,$7 500 000,$7 547 275
26. Jimmy Walker,21,$5 035 850,$2 500 000,$7 535 850
27. Davis Love III,39,$1 505 771,$6 000 000,$7 505 771
28. Brandt Snedeker,46,$3 985 556,$3 500 000,$7 485 556
29. Fred Couples,34,$729 991,$6 500 000,$7 229 991
30. Lee Westwood,27,$1 421 011,$5 750 000,$7 171 011
31. Martin Kaymer,19,$2 430 945,$4 000 000,$6 430 945
32. Louis Oosthuizen,NR,$4 110 531,$2 250 000,$6 360 531
33. Miguel A. Jimenez,37,$1 830 883,$4 500 000,$6 330 883
34. Ryo Ishikawa,32,$1 134 487,$5 000 000,$6 134 487
35. J.B. Holmes,NR,$4 369 930,$1 750 000,$6 119 930
36. Patrick Reed,43,$4 321 960,$1 750 000,$6 071 960
37. Charley Hoffman,NR,$4 546 129,$1 500 000,$6 046 129
38. Luke Donald,30,$1 994 152,$4 000 000,$5 994 152
39. Graeme McDowell,25,$1 188 463,$4 750 000,$5 938 463
40. Keegan Bradley,31,$2 167 579,$3 750 000,$5 917 579
41. Hunter Mahan,26,$1 908 973,$4 000 000,$5 908 973
42. Stacy Lewis,41,$1 893 423,$4 000 000,$5 893 423
43. Paul Casey,NR,$3 768 311,$2 000 000,$5 768 311
44. Ian Poulter,38,$2 154 348,$3 500 000,$5 654 348
45. Bill Haas,NR,$3 309 024,$2 250 000,$5 559 024
46. Danny Lee,NR,$4 515 933,$850 000,$5 365 933
47. Lydia Ko,NR,$3 800 802,$1 500 000,$5 300 802
48. Sangmoon Bae,NR,$2 794 632,$2 500 000,$5 294 632
49. Padraig Harrington,48,$1 491 667,$3 750 000,$5 241 667
50. Paula Creamer,47,$363 485,$4 750 000,$5 113 485[/table]
NR Not ranked among the Golf Digest 50 in March 2015.
Sources Figures for the list were compiled through Golf Digest interviews with agents, players, executives of companies involved with endorsements, industry analysts and through the official money lists of the professional tours.
Spieth’s Big Deal
Sitting at the top of that marketing and performance pyramid is Spieth, who signed a 10-year contract extension with Under Armour even before he won two Majors in 2015. “Both parties went into this knowing he would win Major championships, and we built that into this unprecedented relationship,” says Jay Danzi, who represents Spieth for Lagardère. “Jordan’s bought into a brand strategy from the beginning, and people are getting to see what an amazing person he is.”
Adds David M. Carter, founder of The Sports Business Group: “[Spieth’s] approachability and likability will go a long way with a wide range of consumers and fans who have been consistently disappointed by other superstars.”
In November, when Spieth travelled to the Australian Open, Under Armour was all over it, setting up a junior clinic there under the slogan “Rule Yourself” and promoting it on Instagram, Twitter and its website.
It’s a new world of marketing in pro golf and a new galaxy of stars, with compelling rivalries that might extend beyond the Big Four. A new era seems to have golf in a very good place.
Tiger’s Earnings: $1.4 Billion and Counting
[table]Year, On Course, Off Course, Total
1996,$894 060,$12 250 000,$13 144 060
1997,$2 380 831,$19 500 000,$21 880 831
1998,$2 927 946,$27 000 000,$29 927 946
1999,$7 681 625,$27 000 000,$34 681 625
2000,$11 034 530,$38 000 000,$49 034 530
2001,$7 771 562,$56 000 000,$63 771 562
2002,$8 292 188,$67 000 000,$75 292 188
2003,$6 700 288,$77 000 000,$83 700 288
2004,$6 370 407,$83 000 000,$89 370 407
2005,$11 992 739,$75 000 000,$86 992 739
2006,$11 941 827,$87 000 000,$98 941 827
2007,$22 902 706,$99 800 000,$122 702 706
2008,$7 737 626,$109 600 000,$117 337 626
2009,$21 015 196,$100 900 000,$121 915 196
2010,$2 294 116,$72 000 000,$74 294 116
2011,$2 067 059,$62 000 000,$64 067 059
2012,$9 124 386,$77 000 000,$86 124 386
2013,$12 091 508,$71 000 000,$83 091 508
2014,$610 775,$54 500 000,$55 110 775
2015,$551 098,$48 000 000,$48 551 098
Total,$156 382 473,$1 263 550 000,$1 419 932 473[/table]
