When thinking about high paid athletes, your mind turns to the likes of baseball star Alex Rodriguez, basketball star Kobe Bryant, tennis star Roger Federer, football star Drew Brees and soccer star David Beckham.  In fact, according to Forbes 2013 List of Highest Paid Athletes, three of the five sports mentioned include at least two superstars of that sport in the list of top 10 highest paid athletes.

But above all the aforementioned talent, it is the golfing world that outshines the rest with Tiger Woods sitting on the throne.  Not too far down the line is Phil Mickelson who enjoys a ranking within the top 10 elite.

Here is the 2013 list of highest paid golfers to date:

Tiger Woods

After his divorce in 2010, Tiger has really focused on getting his golf game back in order.  Not only has he doubled his earnings with six tournament victories in the last 12 months, but has also collected bonuses from sponsors Nike and Rolex and income from many lucrative overseas appearances. Tiger has plenty to be smiling about!

Phil Mickelson

World Golf Hall of Famer Phil Mickelson has also been hot as of late.  At the time of this writing, he has 41 PGA victories and $70 million in career prize money wrapped up by his left-handed swing.  He also holds a handful of reputable sponsors in his back pocket.

Rory McIlroy

Rory McIlroy has toned down his earnings in 2013, but he had plenty to brag about coming off stellar performances in 2011 and 2012.  Claiming that he was two years old when he hit his first golf ball, he has become the youngest player to reach $10 million dollars in career earnings with the PGA Tour.  Not too shabby!

Ernie Els

South Africa gives us World Golf Hall of Famer, Ernie Els, also known as “The Big Easy” due to his 6 foot 3 inch stature.  Els was the leading career money winner on the European Tour until finally ousted by Lee Westwood in 2011.  Els not only plays golf, but he has a golf course design business, a wine-making business, a charitable organization which supports golf for underprivileged youth in South Africa, and in his spare time, writes a golf instruction column for Golf Digest magazine!

Brandt Snedeker

After winning the 2012 FedEx Cup which included a $10 million dollar bonus, Brandt Snedeker, for the first time in his career, moved into the Official World Golf Ranking top ten.  He reached the number four slot after winning the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am in February 2013.  At present, his earnings are about $19 million. Hats off to Brandt Snedeker!

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Photo Credits: Wikipedia, Forbes.com

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