Summary Ernie Els was South Africa's highest-earning sportsman in 2012, making $18.2 million last year.
JOHANNESBURG (AP) - The Sunday Times newspaper says Ernie Els was South Africa s highest-earning sportsman in 2012, making 179 million rand ($18.2 million) last year.
The Times says the four-time major champion earned $14.7 million from endorsements and the remaining $3.5 million in tournament winnings, boosted by his victory at the British Open.
The top four on the list were golfers. Louis Oosthuizen made $9.8 million in 2012, Retief Goosen $6 million and Charl Schwartzel $5.9 million.
While the list underlined the earning power of golf, it also showed the financial pull of cricket s Indian Premier League and European and Japanese rugby clubs for South Africans.
The newspaper says cricketer Jacques Kallis makes $305,000 a year playing for his country and $1 million a season from the IPL s Kolkata Knight Riders.
