Signed putter highlights Tiger Woods memorabilia up for auction
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An unprecedented amount of signed Tiger Woods memorabilia has been up for auction in the past year, and that trend has continued with Golden Age Auctions’ latest offerings.
A Scotty Cameron made custom for Woods and signed by the 82-time TOUR winner is the headlining item of Golden Age’s current auction, which went up at 5 p.m. Monday. A pin sheet from the 2008 U.S. Open playoff signed by both participants, Woods and Rocco Mediate, is another headlining item in the auction that features several more items signed by Woods and other legends of the game.
The signed Scotty Cameron, which was first sold in 2005 at Woods’ charity event, is a Scotty Cameron Newport II Red Dot Putter that comes with a certificate of authenticity from Cameron that describes the club as “made for Tiger Woods.” The putter face also has Woods’ own authenticity hologram affixed to the face.
The putter was made for Woods early in his career, “circa 1999 to very early 2000s,” according to Golden Age. Woods auctioned off the putter at his Tiger Jam event in 2005, where it was purchased by the consignor’s family.The putter is said to have then been displayed in a shadowbox since.
Bidding for the putter had already exceeded $30,000 in less than 24 hours.
A Scotty Cameron signed by Woods fetched more than $300,000 last year. Among other items signed by Woods that were sold in 2022 were a Sunday red shirt worn by Woods at the 2010 Masters ($139,349), glove from his 15-shot win at the 2000 U.S. Open ($96,198) and Nike putter ($18,830). The irons that Woods purportedly used to win the Tiger Slam also were auctioned last year, fetching more than $5 million.
“Golf collecting was gaining in popularity leading up to COVID, but the pandemic added fuel to the fire,” said Ryan Carey, founder and president of Golden Age Golf Auctions. “Collectibles in all categories started seeing a flood of new collectors enter the hobby, and prices started soaring as a result.
“Golf was already seen as under-appreciated and undervalued, so this growth was especially evident in the golf collecting industry. So right now, we’re in a period where golf collectors are racing to find quality pieces of Tiger Woods memorabilia – both for their personal collections and for the fact that they believe the best items will be great investments.”
The signed pin sheet from the 2008 U.S. Open comes from Mediate’s caddie that week, Matt Achatz. According to Golden Age, Achatz had a history of getting pin sheets autographed as often as possible while he was on the TOUR. He was not able to get Woods to autograph it after his victory but Woods and Mediate were paired again the following year in the Farmers Insurance Open (also at Torrey Pines) and Achatz asked Woods if he would sign the pin sheet. He obliged.
The pin sheet was authenticated and encapsulated by Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA).
Other interesting items in the current auction include a ticket to Woods’ PGA TOUR debut at Riviera in 1992 signed by Woods; a signed 2001 Upper Deck Authentic card; Woods’ official scoresheet from his dominating victory at the 2000 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach; signed flags from Woods’ triumphs at the 2000 Open Championship at St. Andrews and 2019 Masters, as well as a 2000 Bay Hill Invitational tournament flag signed by both Woods and Arnold Palmer.
Among the non-Woods items is a Masters Tournament badge from 1961, when Gary Player collected his first Masters and second major. The badge even breaks down the cost showing that the price was $13.98, federal tax was 60 cents and state tax was 42 cents for a total of $15. There are several other Masters badges including one from 1965 signed by Jack Nicklaus, who won his second green jacket that year.
Item No. 49 in the auction is an Old Course flag signed by both Nicklaus and Woods. The auction also includes items from Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy, as well as names of the past like Walter Hagen, Bobby Jones, Seve Ballesteros, Palmer and Nicklaus. Among that group is a fourth-round Masters ticket from 1942 when Byron Nelson won his second green jacket in a playoff over Ben Hogan.
The auction can be viewed at goldenageauctions.com. Bidding closes at 8 p.m. Eastern on Jan. 28.
Jay Coffin is a freelance journalist in Orlando, Florida, who has had stints at Golfweek, GolfChannel.com and Golf Digest during his 25 years in the golf industry. He has covered more than 40 major championships and has traveled to 13 different countries Follow Jay Coffin on Twitter.