Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson (Image Source: Getty)
Six-time winner Phil Mickelson once joked about Tiger Woods getting a bigger paycheck even after the former won the Tour Championship. Back in 2009, Mickelson emerged victorious at the PGA Tour’s season-concluding Tour Championship, while Woods finished second in the event.
However, despite his runner-up finish, Woods claimed the FedEx Cup Championship thanks to his incredible performance throughout the season. For winning the Tour Championship, Mickelson earned $1.3 million in prize money, whereas Woods was awarded a $10 million bonus for securing the FedEx Cup.
Phil Mickelson opened up about the disparity in prize money, saying, via Mile.com:
“I like the way today went. I was two back of him, I beat him by three. He gets the $10 million check, and I get $1 million. I’ve got no problem with that. I just love holding this finally.”
Notably, Mickelson secured second place in the FedEx Cup playoffs standings in 2009 and was awarded a $3 million bonus in addition to his earnings for winning the Tour Championship.
A look into Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods’ 2009 PGA Tour season
In 2009, Tiger Woods had a remarkable season. He played in 17 tournaments and secured six victories. He was the runner-up in three events and recorded 16 finishes in the top 25. He missed just one cut that season.
Here are the results and prize money Tiger Woods earned during the 2009 PGA Tour season:
- World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship: T17 $95,000
- World Golf Championships-CA Championship: T9 $142,500
- Tavistock Cup: – $50,000
- Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard: 1 $1,080,000
- Masters Tournament: T6 $242,813
- Quail Hollow Championship: 4 $312,000
- THE PLAYERS Championship: 8 $294,500
- the Memorial Tournament: 1 $1,080,000
- U.S. Open Championship: T6 $233,350
- AT&T National: 1 $1,080,000
- The Open Championship: CUT –
- Buick Open: 1 $918,000
- World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational: 1 $1,400,000
- PGA Championship: 2 $810,000
- The Barclays: T2 $495,000
- Deutsche Bank Championship: T11 $165,000
- BMW Championship: 1 $1,350,000
- THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola: 2 $810,000
- World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions: T6 $190,000
It was an amazing season for Phil Mickelson as well in 2009. He played in 18 tournaments, winning three events, including the season-concluding Tour Championship. He also secured one runner-up finish and seven top-10. However, he missed two cuts during the season.
Here are the results and prize money Phil Mickelson earned during the 2009 PGA Tour season:
- FBR Open: CUT –
- Buick Invitational: T42 $17,052.75
- AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am: T55 $13,237.00
- Northern Trust Open: 1 $1,134,000.00
- World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship: T9 $140,000.00
- World Golf Championships-CA Championship: 1 $1,400,000.00
- Shell Houston Open: CUT –
- Masters Tournament: 5 $300,000.00
- Quail Hollow Championship: T5 $212,875.00
- THE PLAYERS Championship: T55 $21,470.00
- St. Jude Classic presented by FedEx: T59 $12,096.00
- U.S. Open Championship: T2 $559,830.00
- World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational: T58 $44,250.00
- PGA Championship: 73 $13,700.00
- The Barclays: T52 $17,400.00
- Deutsche Bank Championship: T27 $53,250.00
- BMW Championship: T30 $43,593.75
- THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola: 1 $1,350,000.00
- World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions: 1 $1,200,000.00
