If you’ve never heard of the Tiger Tax, prepare to be educated. Tiger Woods has made a lot of people very rich during his lifetime, maybe none more so than Phil Mickelson. The good folks over at No Laying Up once pontificated on whether golfers should have to pay Woods a tax on their career earnings, and Mickelson more or less affirmed this notion in this recent clip from “Feherty.”
“I’ve always thought [our relationship is] really great because I’m so appreciative of what he’s done for the game,” said Mickelson. “In that, he’s done as much for me or more than anybody else. We’re all in this together. We all make our living in golf. Whether it’s members of the media, players, caddies, anybody -- we all want to build up this product, and nobody built up the game more than he did.
“When I won the Tuscon Open, the purse was $1 million. The entire purse. First place was $180,000. I remember thinking in the mid-90s, ‘I wonder if someday we’ll play for a $1 million first-place check? I don’t know probably not in my lifetime, but I hope we do.’ Here we are every week, a million-plus first-place check. That’s due to Tiger.”
Yes it is, and Mickelson has made over $80 million on the course in his career because of it. He has also probably earned 10 times that off the course. Last year, Lefty pulled in nearly $40 million on and off the course. He is wealthy, and he owes a lot of that wealth to Woods.
“All these opportunities drove up my revenue and every other player’s revenue on the golf course and off the golf course so I’m always appreciative of him,” said Mickelson. “I’ve told him that many times. I don’t know if he thinks I’m sincere or not because sometimes I can be a bit sarcastic. I try to say it sincerely though because I genuinely mean that and feel that.”
