The U.S. Open kicks off this week with Phil Mickelson ranked behind only the favorites of Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth with the oddsmakers to win the tournament. Few golf fans would be surprised to see Mickelson’s name near the top of the leaderboard on Sunday. He’s finished second in the event six times during his career, although never taken home the trophy. “Lefty” has often had to play second fiddle on the PGA Tour during the past two decades, typically in the shadow of Tiger Woods.

Mickelson racked up 42 PGA wins, including five major titles, since turning pro in 1992, but Woods’ tallies stand at 79 and 14. Mickelson was ranked second in the world for 270 weeks without ever reaching No. 1 (Woods ranked first a record 683 weeks). The next highest total for a player who didn’t reach the top spot is 39 weeks for Jim Furyk.

Playing second banana to Woods has been lucrative for Mickelson with Woods’ popularity fueling an explosion in money on the PGA Tour since he turned pro in 1996. Mickelson’s $77 million in prize money ranks second all-time behind Woods’ total of $110 million. Mickelson has made more than $600 million in his career from prize money, appearances and endorsements, but he has never out-earned Woods, who ranked as the world’s highest-paid athlete every year from 2001 through 2011. But this year, Mickelson squeaked by his rival with earnings of $50.8 million over the last 12-months to lead golf’s top-earning players. Woods earned $50.6 million by our count.

via Phil Mickelson Tops Tiger Woods As Golf’s Highest-Paid Player – Forbes.