Throwback: Tiger Woods' memorabilia sold for stunning amount at auction
Tiger Woods is one of the greatest athletes of all time and is arguably the best golfer of all time. As such, and as a result of having such a long and iconic career, his memorabilia is undoubtedly valuable. Shirts he wore, clubs he swung, tees he hit from are all worth a pretty penny.
Every once in a while, something random and relatively obscure comes along and sells for a high price. It makes sense that Tiger's first hole-in-one ball went for almost $200,000. It makes a little less sense that an old piece of paper sold for $69,000, but that's what recently happened.
According to Golf Daily, Scott Mohr was the marshal chairman at the 1996 Greater Milwaukee Open. That was the tournament in which Woods made his PGA Tour debut. He did this just days after winning a third consecutive U.S. Amateur title and turning pro.
It wasn't an excellent performance but Woods did manage to sink a hole-in-one. Mohr just happened to notice the section with Woods' name on the way out and grabbed it. He kept the ticket as a fun keepsake, not even considering that Woods would go on to become perhaps the greatest to ever swing a club.
Mohr later heard about other items from the event that were selling like hotcakes. A single ticket was sold for over $37,000. Mohr reached out and found out that his piece of paper was worth over $16,000.
When he went the next day, extended bidding drove the price up—all the way to $69,000. He naturally cashed in and an obscure piece of Tiger Woods' history was sold.
This will likely continue for a long time. Anything that has or will be associated with Woods in some way will eventually become valuable. A scorecard from a random event he played in the mid 2000s will become a treasured piece of history. The shoes he wore when he placed second in an Open will be priceless to some.
This will only ratchet up when he finally retires. Items like the scorecard that Mohr held onto for all those years will likely grow in value once Tiger calls it a career.
Is Tiger Woods retiring soon?
Tiger Woods is not as active a golfer anymore. He has a serious history of debilitating injuries that have certainly taken their toll and affected his play.
He may eventually step away for good. Tiger presently assumes more of an ambassador's role to the game of golf, playing only every once in a while during an event.
Losing an absolute legend to retirement will certainly be a sad day for golf.