Courtesy: Sun-Sentinel Newspaper

Money sure swirls around in the world of sports and golf certainly gets its fair share.

A lot of green flows to golfers as the result of their off-course endorsement deals, of course.

That's no different from other sports figures whose salaries are often dwarfed by their personal service contracts and so forth.

In fact, some sports figures don't even have to win to do well. Just looking good is enough. The now passé Anna Kournikova never won a tournament on the Women's Tennis Association tour. Not one. Nada. But her annual income up until several years ago was more than 10 million dollars US.

Her deals with watch companies, clothing lines and the like were solely responsible for her wealth. A hot relationship with Sergei Federov of the Detroit Red Wings didn't hurt her image, either.

The same holds true, interestingly, for Michelle Wie. According to a February story in Golf Digest, Wie earned 20 million bucks last year with 19 and half million of that from off-course deals. Astonishing for someone not yet 18 years of age.

As we know, Wie has not won on the LPGA Tour yet and has been on the DL for much of this year.

The Golf Digest story also reveals that, among sports figures, Tiger Woods is the highest earning athlete on the planet. Last year, the world's number one golfer hauled 90 million dollars off to the bank.

Thank goodness that doubled the 43 or so million that Simon Cowell deposited for wearing T-shirts and glum expressions on American Idol.

The lowly caddy is not forgotten in the article, either. Some of them do phenomenally well; others, not so well. The widely accepted practice for caddies is that they receive a grand for each week their player competes. 5 percent of the prize money is theirs, too.

That jumps to 7 percent for a top ten and 10 percent for a win. No wonder Steve Williams can afford to run a race car in his native New Zealand between tour events.

Of course, just like the players, caddies pay for their own expenses to, from and during events. If they're lucky, they can hitch a ride on their player's private jet.

If they're not so lucky and their player is struggling, the two of them will share the gas bill on a Chevy and stay at Motel 8.

It's a nomadic and uncertain life but there is something compelling about it.

Imagine the book you could write after 10 years on the bag...