Early Tiger Woods autographs pre-dating his monumental 1997 Masters
victory are hard to come by in the hobby. Single signed golf balls from
this era? Virtually non-existent. For starters, it is well-documented
that Tiger—always the perfectionist—has never liked signing golf balls
due to the inconsistencies the little cratered sphere gives his
signature. In fact, he reportedly has not signed any for fans since
shortly after he turned pro. Secondly, Upper Deck Authenticated—Woods’
exclusive memorabilia and autograph partner since 2001—has regulated the
type of items Tiger signs, particularly golf balls, making this offered
lot a true rarity.
Woods made his official PGA Tour debut as a professional on August 29,
1996, at the Greater Milwaukee Open. He had already played in the
Masters and The Open Championship as an amateur while competing for
Stanford, but this was the first tournament he could actually receive a
paycheck. He shot under par both Thursday and Friday to sit in 8th place
entering the weekend, but ended up 60th place. Seven months later he
would begin his unprecedented run with 14 majors in 11 years, dominating
the golf world unlike any player has before or since.
The Titleist 2 golf ball, labeled “DT ^ 2 – Piece” on the side, has the
official “GMO” logo for the Greater Milwaukee Open. Tiger has left his
lovely 9/10 autograph in black marker. According to our consignor, whose sports operations business worked on-site
for numerous PGA events for over 20 years, the autographed ball was procured by a PGA
caddie at the 1996 tournament with whom the consignor became good friends. It
is unknown if this ball was actually used by Tiger over the four-day
tournament (Aug. 29-Sept. 1), but there is a good possibility. The caddie wishes to remain anonymous to
protect his reputation as he is still actively working in the golf industry.
Includes detailed letter of provenance from consignor. Full LOA from JSA for autograph.