Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Phil Mickelson are the three clear favorites to win the Masters this week. As for corporate America, however, Mickelson outclasses the other two players.
In a new survey released by E-Poll and Nielsen – the people who also measure television ratings – Mickelson is the most marketable golfer. His rating, or N-score, of 75 is greater than Woods’ 41 and McIlroy’s 9.
Among athletes, 7 percent have scores from 50-99, 14 percent between 30-49 and 70 percent have a N-score less than 30. By comparison, Derek Jeter has the highest score among active baseball players at 145. A score over 200 would put an athlete in the top 4 percent of all sports figures.
Despite a high level of awareness about the 14-time major champion and recent Bay Hill winner, he remains a polarizing figure. Mickelson was liked by 52 percent of the 1,100 respondents while Woods garnered just a 17 percent likability rating.
“It will be interesting to see if another green jacket at the Masters this year can win back the favor of the public and corporate America,” said Nielsen vice-president for sports Stephen Master in a release.
In the last six months, Woods has signed endorsement deals with watchmaker Rolex – resuming a relationship severed in 2002 – as well as supplement company Fuse Science and Japanese pain-rub maker Kowa Company.
Tom Watson was second in the survey with a score of 53. Fred Couples (35) and Ernie Els (32) round out the top 5.