Pro golfer Tiger Woods has managed to hold on to the number 1 spot of the list of the world’s highest earning athletes, despite all the scandals and controversies he was involved in last year.

Woods got the top spot on two lists. The first one was the Sports Illustrated’s SI.com’s 2010 U.S. list of 50 athletes, where he was reported to have earned a total of $90.5 million, a 10% drop from his earnings last year.

The second list was Forbes magazine’s 2010 list of the top 50 earning athletes in the world, where he was reported to have earned $105 million, a 4.5% decrease from last year. Remember that because of his extramarital issues, he lost a couple of his sponsors, AT&T and Accenture Plc. This was Woods’ ninth straight year to top the Forbes list.

Other athletes that made it to the top 10 of the 2010 U.S. list were Phil Mickelson, LeBron James, Floyd Mayweather Jr, Alex Rodriguez and Peyton Manning.

The Forbes’ list also included Floyd Mayweather Jr, Kobe Bryant, Phil Mickelson, David Beckham, Roger Federer, LeBron James and Manny Pacquiao.

View the complete list of athletes that made it to the 2010 U.S. list compiled by SI.com and the Forbes 2010 list of the top 50 earning athletes.

Want to earn some spare money as a writer for us? Send us an email!