Tiger Woods: Is He Really the World's Most Overrated Golfer?

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Tiger Woods: Is He Really the World's Most Overrated Golfer?
Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

The term "overrated" is thrown around very loosely in the blogosphere these days. Many armchair analysts rank athletes based on their own biases, making any argument obsolete. 

In the golfing world, one method that can make this process more scientific can be done by looking at a player's earnings versus his media perception.

Money list rankings[1] provide a straightforward measure of earnings, and it accurately accounts for performance in top-tier tournaments, as these contests typically have the largest payouts. The best way to measure a golfer's media perception, meanwhile, is by looking at his endorsement deals.

Let's use the following comparison as an example: if Golfer A makes $500,000 in annual endorsements, but only earns $10,000 from tee to green, and Golfer B makes $50 million in endorsements while earning $2 million in tournament play, we can say that both are overrated. Because each is vastly underperforming the expectations set out by his sponsors, it's fair to cry foul.

Now, it is difficult to determine exactly which golfer is more overrated, as that conclusion is up to the reader. Some may say that Golfer A is more overrated, because his earnings are a smaller percentage of his endorsements (2 percent) than those of Golfer B (4 percent).

On the other hand, it could be argued that Golfer B is more overrated, as anyone who makes such an exorbitant amount of money in endorsements should be near the top of the PGA's money list—leaders typically finish around $7 million.

Either way, there is always room debate about this subject, but we're going to take a look at the Tour players with the biggest disparities between these two categories, so you can be the judge.

Let us know in the comments section exactly who you think deserves the title of "most overrated" out of this group.

Don't be afraid to speak up.


[1] In this article, money list data includes all income earned on the PGA Tour, PGA European, PGA Japan, Asian, Southern Africa, and Australasian circuits.

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