Besides the fact that Woods was on “on leave” for eight months, the 33 year old golfer still managed to outperform the earnings of his closest competitors – Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan and Kimi Raikkonen – by almost two and half times. Bryant, Jordan and Raikkonen earned $45 million this year. Notable on the list to is that Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao, who landed on the 6th spot tied with LeBron James and Phil Mickelson. Pacquiao gained much profits from successfully beating out Oscar dela Hoya and Ricky Hatton in his fights during the previous months. Here is the complete list of the Forbes Top Ten World’s Highest Paid Athletes 2009:

1. Tiger Woods – $110 million
2. Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Kimi Raikkonen (tie) – 45 million
5. David Beckham $42 million
6. Lebron James, Manny Pacquiao, Phil Mickelson (tie) – $40 million
9. Valentino Rossi -$35 million
10. Dale Earnhardt Jr. -$34 million