GolfDifferent Strokes

Different Strokes: Bidding opens for more pieces of Tiger’s tale

Some of the golf great’s most distinctive items are up for auction, in case you have millions of euro to spare

The appetite for Tiger Woods memorabilia is insatiable, with yet further items – a signed glove, his trademark red Nike final-round polo shirt and a putter – up for auction through the Golden Age website, who already hosted record-breaking sales earlier this year.

That earlier auction included a record $5 million (€4.82m) sale for irons used by Woods to win the Tiger Slam, where he held all four Majors at the same time in the crossover years of 2000 and 2001.

This time, a glove worn by Woods during his record 15-stroke win in the 2000 US Open at Pebble Beach – which was signed by the player and given to his caddie Steve Williams shortly after sinking the winning putt – is up for auction, along with a red shirt worn by the player in the final round of the 2010 Masters at Augusta National (when he finished fourth).

Both glove and shirt come with certificates of authenticity.

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The signed putter is a Nike Method, used by Woods in 2010. The putter was donated by Woods’s agent Mark Steinberg to a charity auction in 2014 with a letter from Steinberg stating he had witnessed the player using the club. The putter has the TW logo on one side of the hosel and Tiger’s signature on the other and contains the serial number TW 9.102P. The putter is fitted with a blacked-out rubber Ping grip, his preferred grip on his tournament putters.

The online auction is due to finish on December 10th, the same day that Tiger teams up with Rory McIlroy to play Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth in the 2022 edition of The Match.

Hurley getting into the swing of things

Patience and perseverance have proven to be important in Gary Hurley’s career path through the development tours, having played mainly on the Alps Tour and the Mena circuit in recent years, but the Waterford man’s successful acquisition of a full DP World Tour card through last month’s Q-School has taken him to a new level.

This week, Hurley marks his rookie season on the main circuit with a place in the field at the Investec South African Open at Lanseria, outside Johannesburg, where two other Irish players, Tom McKibbin, who opened his season with a top-20 in last week’s Joburg Open, and John Murphy are also competing.

Word of Mouth

“I can’t believe she did it; everyone was telling her to pace herself but she was out there all day, every day” – Cameron Smith after winning the Australian PGA Championship for a third time, revealing his grandmother Carol, who had just completed a second course of chemotherapy, had walked the course through all four rounds in support of the British Open champion.

By the Numbers: 1-2-3

The strength of Swedish golfers on the Ladies’ European Tour was confirmed as players from the Scandinavian country in stood first, second and third in the final standings. Linn Grant, a four-time winner, finished in top place ahead of Maja Stark, with Johanna Gustavsson in third position. In all, nine Swedish players featured inside the top-50 on the final rankings following the Spanish Open, the final tournament of the season on the LET.

On this day: November 29th, 1987

“I think that’s the first time in my life I’ve heard him shut up, he was speechless. For once, he was lost for words,” was how Jack Nicklaus recalled the sound of silence that momentarily befell Lee Trevino after the colourful Tex-Mex aced the 17th to scoop the jackpot in the made-for-television Skins Game at PGA West in California.

The fun format was run over a two-day timeline and this particular edition featured defending champion Fuzzy Zoeller, Arnold Palmer and the Golden Bear, with Trevino stealing the show and the majority of the loot with his dramatic hole-in-one.

Trevino’s six-iron carried the 167 yards to the drop into the cup, enabling him to sweep the what had developed into a nine hole payout, with the other three players needing (and failing) to follow him in. “It looked like a Rembrandt,” was how Trevino described his shot, which added $175,000 to his total take of $310,000 from the overall purse of $450,000. “When I hit it, I knew it was close. But never in my wildest dreams did I think it would go in.”

Twitter Twaddle

To this day playing in team golf and playing, fighting for and supporting my team-mates are some of my best golfing memories. Looking forward to the Hero Cup in Abu Dhabi shit January! – Tommy Fleetwood after confirming he would be player-captain of the Britain and Ireland team against continental Europe in the Hero Cup come January.

Winning on your 3rd @DPWorldTour start Impressive golf @DanJBradbury Enjoy the celebrations – Tyrrell Hatton tipping the cap to the new kid on the block, after Bradbury’s win in the Joburg Open.

And BOOM just like that…..No clubs, they r still in Australia enjoying themselves I’m told. I guess I won’t be working tomorrow @Qantas – Scott Hend on the joys of life on tour.

Know the Rules

Q A player’s ball is found by another player two minutes and 50 seconds after she began searching for the ball. It takes the player 30 seconds to get to her ball and identify it as hers. As the ball was identified after the three minutes search time had finished, is the ball considered lost?

A No. If a ball is found within three minutes of the player or her caddie starting to search for it, the player is allowed a reasonable time to identify the ball, even if that happens after the three-minute search has ended.

In the Bag: Cameron Smith

Australian PGA Championship

Driver – Titleist TSR3 (10 degrees)

3-wood – Titleist TSR2 (15 degrees)

Irons – Mizuno Pro Hi-FIi (3), Titleist T100 Black (5-9)

Wedges – Titleist Vokey Design SM9 Jet Black (46, 52 and 56 degrees), Titleist WedgeWorks Proto Jet Black (60)

Putter – Scotty Cameron 009M Prototype

Ball – Titleist ProV1x