Golf has become so corporate that players get a golden parachute before they even retire. It’s no wonder a player as driven to succeed and determined to make history as Tiger Woods has no equal.

It would be naïve to suggest that tennis is entirely different, that tennis is a cauldron of competitive fire where real men vie for glory and honor while eschewing the rewards of the material world. Corporate dollars permeate that sport also, just not as many.

In 2006, Federer made the final in 16 of the 17 events he entered. His tournament winnings totaled just over $8 million. Tiger played in 20 tournaments (15 on the PGA Tour), won 10 (8 on PGA Tour), and amassed almost $10 million in PGA winnings.

But after the top guys, the drop-off is dramatic. The No. 2 player in golf in 2006 was Jim Furyk, who earned $7.2 million in tournament winnings; the No. 2 player in tennis was Rafael Nadal, who raked in $3.7 million. The No. 5 player in golf was Geoff Ogilvy, who amassed $4.3 million; the No. 5 player in tennis was James Blake, who earned $1.8 million in tournament winnings.

And it gets worse the farther down one goes on the charts. The No. 15 player in golf was Stewart Cink, who pulled in $2.7 million in tournament winnings in 2006; the No. 15 player in tennis was Tommy Haas, who made just over $947,000. In fact, if you want to find the cutoff on the golf tour to the $1 million mark in tournament winnings, you have to go all the way down to No. 94, where Nick O’Hern resides with his measly $995,000.

The point of all this is simple: The incentive isn’t there to challenge Tiger on the PGA Tour when you can finish at No. 93 and still bring home over $1 million in earnings, not including ancillary income in endorsements.

Again, this is all relative. Tiger is still a wonder, and still a dominant force. But Federer’s rule is more difficult, because as good as he is, he is facing players week after week who are just plain hungrier and less likely to be intimidated. The fact that he foils them almost every time out is all the more impressive.

The golfers on the PGA Tour not named Tiger Woods are, for the most part, comfortable wimps. They may profess to want to be No. 1 in the world, but they haven’t shown it. That’s because there is no incentive to be the best when you can still be filthy rich by consistently finishing in the middle of the pack.

Yes, the message “Roger. Over” still gets delivered to Federer’s competitors. But not until after they put up a fight. And that makes all the difference.

MORE FROM GOLF

Golf Section Front

Nordqvist wins LPGA Tour Championship Out of Bounds: Tiger booed ... at Stanford? Latest golf videos Latest player news, rumors and more Tracking Tiger: News, features and more Tiger's triumphs: Recapping all Woods' wins Vote: When will Tiger win his 15th major? Vote, discuss: Best major of 2009? Special section: Golf on NBC Discuss: Sound off on golf at Newsvine.com Golf Section Front   Add Golf headlines to your news reader: