Don’t miss this fascinating Ron Sirak/Golf Digest article on the top 50 money-generating golfers. Julius Boros ushered in play-for-logo deals for professional golfers back in the early 1960’s when he donned an Amana hat for $50 a week. I think it’s safe to say that no one in their wildest dreams imagined at that time that a 17-year old female golfer (Michelle Wie) would be pulling in almost $20 million in off-course income in a single year. Imagine what she could pull down if she actually won a tournament or two.
Several other interesting tidbits:

Wie made $2 million more in off-course income than Jack Nicklaus.
Someone still paid David Duval over $4 million in off-course income?
Chad Campbell is the highest-ranking Texan at 19 with over $6.6 million in total income, but The Woodlands’ K.J. Choi is gaining on him (25th at $5.7 million).
A caddie for a mid-range player in the top-50 money-earning list, who won at least once on the PGA Tour in 2006, had gross earnings of around $260,000.
This year, everyone on the PGA Tour will get a courtesy car at every tournament.