Michelle Wie and Her 0 Professional Victories Is the Highest-Paid Player on LPGA Tour

Filed under: Golf, LPGAIt's hardly surprising that the four highest-paid female athletes are tennis players; with endorsement dollars and tournament purses on the rise, it makes sense. But No. 5 on the list, the first of three golfers, was a little shocking: Michelle Wie. Yep, the 19-year-old former phenom-turned-Q-School candidate makes more than anybody else on the LPGA Tour, and since she's yet to win a tournament, her earnings come solely from endorsements. According to Forbes.com, Wie has earned $12 million. Annika Sorenstam, 72-time LPGA Tour winner and 10-time major winner, is at $11 million, and Sorenstam's de facto successor, Lorena Ochoa, comes in at $10 million. Weird. ...Sorenstam, Wie and Ochoa have broken into eight-figure earnings territory, a testament to the LPGA's efforts to globalize. The women's tour not only has top golfers from numerous countries (Sorenstam is from Sweden, Ochoa from Mexico, while Wie is Korean-American, born in Hawaii), but has made a point to broaden its international appeal by holding more events for players in their home markets. ... As for Wie, there's this: Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments more...