We know that Tiger Woods is many things. Golfer, fisherman, basketball and baseball fan, video game junkie, junk food junkie, millionaire.
But apparently we have underestimated him . . . literally.
He is going to be sport's first $6-billion man.
That's "B" as in "bonanza."
Now Woods already has endorsement deals worth upward of $100 million and is renegotiating his landmark $40-million Nike deal that would reportedly include a percentage of sales. And at 24, he is also the all-time leader in PGA Tour money winnings at $16,264,859.
But $6 billion?
He is going to make that much in his career, according to the cover story in ESPN magazine, which broke down his earnings into simple-to-understand, multimillion-dollar segments.
Now follow closely.
PGA winnings: Prize money will grow; Woods will lead the pack until 30 and his winning rate will decline until he's 50; he will have five dominant years and 10 declining seasons on the Senior Tour. According to the magazine, through age 65, Woods will make $1.17 billion here.
Worldwide winnings: He makes about 14% of his winnings in events that are not part of the PGA Tour, ESPN magazine says. He will make $207 million here.
Appearance fees: Future worldwide earnings, including percentage increases, give him $132 million here.
Endorsements: Add the Nike deal to his average endorsement income from 1997 through 1999, then increase the total at 8% a year until he's 30, then attach the endorsement income to the same percentage increase as PGA winnings. The magazine pencils him in for $4.6 billion here.
Add it up and you've got $6.109 billion.
Of course, who is to say that Woods won't get bored by the golf thing and try his hand at, well, acting, maybe?
CASEY MARTIN UPDATE
News item: The PGA Tour says it will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to hear an appeal of the Casey Martin cart decision.
Reaction: Of course.
Martin won his landmark case that allowed him to play pro golf with the use of a cart in February 1998, so this has dragged on long enough.
Martin is disappointed that the PGA Tour hasn't dropped the matter, but it insists it needs a resolution because there have been conflicting verdicts by other courts involving similar cases under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Meantime, Martin is No. 161 on the money list after 15 events. That means he isn't so far out of the top 125, which is the cutoff for retaining his PGA Tour card for 2001.
Also, there is more good news. He is listed as No. 9 in People magazine's list of the top 100 bachelors.
GO WEST
For what it's worth, if Woods wins the Advil Western Open in Lemont, Ill., to defend the title he won last year, he would be the ninth player to win the event back-to-back.
The other eight: Willie Anderson, Jim Barnes, Walter Hagen, Ralph Guldahl, Sam Snead, Billy Casper, Jack Nicklaus and Nick Price.
Woods, by the way, will be in Ireland next week along with David Duval and Mark O'Meara to play a two-day charity pro-am at Limerick Golf Club. Woods also plans to do some fly fishing in Ireland.
MORE TIGER
Woods' total of 26.80 points leads the Official World Ranking and not surprisingly is the highest total since the system was adopted. Duval is a distant No. 2 at 10.99 and Woods' margin of 15.81 is the largest ever.
Also, Nike announced that its Woods spring 2001 line of clothing includes a new version of his famous "Sunday red" shirt. In the new line, the color of the shirt is sort of a burgundy color, called "Chianti."
Apparently, merlot, zinfandel and cabernet were taken.
GO CARDINAL
Stanford is on a roll. Woods wins the U.S. Open and then former Stanford teammate Notah Begay wins the next two tournaments.
Which means what? It's Woods' turn at the Western Open?
TAKE TWO . . . OR 41
Just so nobody forgets, the name or logo of Advil can be seen in 41 places at the 18th green at Cog Hill, including a billboard-size sign on the corporate sky box roof.
'BEAR PIT' UPDATE
This sounds interesting: Nick Faldo says there will be a European players' meeting next week at the Loch Lomond tournament in Scotland to discuss the appointment of Mark James as vice captain of next year's Ryder Cup.
Faldo has already asked James to step down. Faldo told Sky Television: "I know a lot of players are asking for his resignation . . . they are outraged by it."
James, Europe's 1999 Ryder Cup captain, has been widely criticized for his views in his recount of the Brookline matches in his book, "Into The Bear Pit."
TUNE IN TO ER
Want to know more about Greg Norman's arthroscopic hip surgery? Well, you're in luck, because now on Norman's Web site, Shark.com, you can see images of a flexible chisel cutting at the three-inch tear in his labrum.
Still not enough? There is also a question-and-answer segment with the doctors, a personal note from Norman on his rehabilitation progress and even a two-minute video of the surgery itself.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
