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At age 30, Tiger Woods is on target to become golf's first billion-dollar man.
His 49 PGA Tour wins and 11 majors have helped Woods collect $60 million in prize money during his professional career. But that pales in comparison to the estimated $90 million he racks up each year in endorsements.
And Woods is not the only one cashing in on his success. Executives at the companies Woods represents are smiling this week after Woods won his third British Open title and showed the world, again, what makes him special, as a golfer and as a competitor capable of stirring sports fans.
His win Sunday at Royal Liverpool will be remembered for the "grief burst" on the 18th green, when he buried his head on the shoulder of his caddie and sobbed in bereavement for his father, Earl, who died of prostate cancer in May. And Woods' British Open victory helps wash away the bitterness of missing the cut for the first time as a professional at this year's U.S. Open.
In a sports marketing world filled with risk, Woods is as safe as it gets. He exudes class, consistency and excellence –- qualities that have prompted companies and brands such as Buick, Electronic Arts (ERTS, news, msgs), Tag Heuer and Accenture (ACN, news, msgs) to bid for the rights to capitalize on his name and image.
No company has a stronger association with Woods than Nike (NKE, news, msgs). For more than a decade, Woods has been the driving force behind the company's $500 million golf business.
"Frankly, I think no one can argue that he's probably one of the best hangars in the business in regards to clothing; he always does a great job in presenting our apparel and footwear and really makes a statement in how he looks on that golf course," says Cindy Davis, general manager of Nike Golf.
Nike officials say they see exponential value from Woods' victories. Nike stokes the Tiger craze with commercials like the one featuring his remarkable chip shot on the 16th hole at last year's Master's. The company's latest effort -– a slow-motion presentation of Woods' swing filmed by Academy Award-winning cinematographer Junusz Kaminski -– was seen by American viewers tuning in to last weekend's British Open.
CNBC Video: Woods back on top of his game
But it's not all rosy in Nikeland: His contract doesn't require him to exclusively use Nike clubs, and he won the British Open by hitting only one of his 72 drives with the new Nike Sasquatch driver.
"I think what we saw (Sunday) was an athlete that had a plan and had a strategy coming into this golf course and, you know, there are 14 golf clubs in a bag," shrugs Nike's Davis.
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"Tiger transcends the game of golf," says Larry Peck, a marketing manager with Buick. "We know that golf fans are more affluent, they're younger, they are more educated than our traditional buyer, and Tiger is an ideal means to get to them. We used Tiger to launch an all-new vehicle (with an) all-new name, and helped to drive the average age of the Buick driver down by 12 years."
Woods is not only the world's top golfer; he's the nation's most beloved sports star, according to the Harris Poll. In May, Woods topped Michael Jordan, who had held the No. 1 spot for 13 years.
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