Tiger Woods golf ball from 1997 US Masters fetches $64,000 in an auction

A golf ball used by the legendary golfer Tiger Woods during the US Masters in 1997 sold this Sunday, April 9, for $64,124.40 (approx €58,723). During the final round of the tournament at the world-famous Augusta National Golf Club, the American star bogeyed the fifth hole.

Woods subsequently gave his ball to Julian Nexsen, who was a 9-year-old boy at the time. The player went on to win his historic first major that day, becoming the youngest player in history to win the famous golf tournament. In the process, Woods broke the previous record held by Jack Nicklaus by racking up a four-day score of 270, 18 under par.

On March 27, Nexsen put the ball up for auction with the Golden Age Auction house. It started with an initial bid of $500 (approx €457.89) but its price kept increasing until it reached the final sale price today when bidding closed.

A spokesperson for the auction house said: “Unless Tiger himself or his caddie Fluff intentionally saved a ball from this historic final round (which we doubt), this may be the only confirmed golf ball from the final round of Tiger Woods’ first Major Championship victory”.

Many might doubt the authenticity of this ball but the moment when Woods handed it to Mr Nexsen was forever captured in print the next day when the Washington Times ran it on its front page. It wrote: “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 ball became something from golfing history and was framed for posterity together with the newspaper’s headline and the 1997 Masters Tournament badge that Mr Nexsen had kept, along with the final day’s pairing sheets. He also signed a legal document certifying the ball’s authenticity.

Those attending the Masters that day witnessed the coming-of-age of one of the game’s greatest players. Woods is still competing 26 years later – despite announcing his retirement in 2021 – although an injury caused him to withdraw today from this year’s tournament, as reported by bbc.com.