The Highest Earners of 2013

Highest Earners of 2013

With the 2013 season over on both the US PGA and European Tours, some of the world's top golfers are taking a week or two off to enjoy the festive season – and with the generous prize money that has been won over the past twelve months, celebrations are likely to be lavish.

Here are some of the top earners from the professional golf world, whose talent and dedication earned them rich rewards during 2013:

The PGA Tour – where the money's at
The US PGA Tour remained the most lucrative in the 2013, with Tiger Woods topping the earnings list at $ 8,553,439. Sweden's Henrik Stenson came in second, with annual earnings of $ 6,388,230 for the year.

As it weathers a slow economic recovery in the region, the North American golf circuit is still the place where most pros aspire to play – the generous purses at PGA Tour events and competitive sponsorship deals mean that this will probably be the case for some time to come.

Top earners on the European Tour
The European Tour's Race to Dubai came to a close with Sweden's Henrik Stenson taking the top position. Stenson took home € 4,103,796 in total winnings, with the British runner-up Ian Poulter winning € 3,172,729 during the 2013 season.

While lower than the figures earned by Woods on the PGA Tour, the top prize money on the European Tour is still sizeable – Stenson won both the Race to Dubai and the PGA Tour's FedEx Cup in 2013 to win over $ 10 million in total.

Top earning golfers
Golf pros don't rely on prize money alone for their total income – in fact, some players earn far more in sponsorships, endorsements, and other business ventures than they do in tournament purses.

In 2013, Tiger Woods retained his title as the world's highest paid golfer, with Forbes estimating his total earnings at $ 61.2 million. Phil Mickelson earned $46.7 million, while South Africa's Ernie Els was third on the list at $22.3 million for the year.