Tiger Woods on track to become first billionaire athlete

Forbes magazine reports Tiger Woods is on track to make a billion dollars by 2010. Woods has earned around $115 million in 2007 alone, and Forbes credit the golfer with annualized investment returns of 8%.

Woods was a child prodigy golfer and much was expected of him before he turned pro in 1996, he was already a household name by 1998's Open Championship at Birkdale - also the venue for next week's event.

But not all of this fortune has been amassed through his sports earnings, in fact most of it has come from endorsements. Woods has numerous sponsorship deals, most notably with Nike, Gillette and Buick. These are estimated to have made him over $750 million over the course of his career.

Woods is expected to become the first athlete in the world to reach the $1 billion figure.