A ball given to a youngster by Tiger Woods during his famous 1997 victory at The Masters has fetched over $64,000 at auction.
Julian Nexsen was an excited nine-year-old when Woods handed him his ball at Augusta National following a bogey at the fifth hole during his final round.
Woods went on to win the Green Jacket for the first of his 15 Major victories in historic fashion – claiming a record 12-stroke victory over Tom Kite with a record-breaking score of 18 under par.
The 82-time PGA Tour winner broke Jack Nicklaus’ scoring record during his success, but was later eclipsed by Dustin Johnson’s 20 under par he scored during his Masters victory in November 2020.
Mr Nexsen held onto the memento for 26 years until putting it up for sale with Golden Age Auctions on March 27, with the bidding ending on Masters Sunday this year.
With a starting price of $500, there was obviously a lot of interest in a piece of Tiger memorabilia, given the headlines Woods was making for being back at Augusta again this year – although he had to withdraw after making the cut with yet more injury problems.
Eventually settling on $64,124 – the ball is now off to one lucky golf fan’s collection and could possibly be the only certified ball from that 1997 Woods victory available.
"Unless Tiger himself or his caddie Fluff intentionally saved a ball from this historic final round, this may be the only confirmed golf ball from the final round of Tiger Woods' first Major Championship victory," said Golden Age Auctions.
Mr Nexsen signed a legal declaration about the authenticity of the ball and had plenty of witnesses of his interaction with Woods at Augusta – luckily enough with one being a Washington Post reporter.
The newspaper even reported the moment, printing: "After making his first bogey in 36 holes yesterday, Woods stopped on his way to the sixth tee to give a ball to 9-year-old Julian Nexsen of Greenville, SC.”
The sale item saw the golf ball framed along with the Washington Post report, Mr Nexsen’s badge from the 1997 Masters along with a final round pairings sheet.
