A lone bogey on Augusta National’s par-4 5th hole during the final round of the 1997 Masters couldn’t stop Tiger Woods’ march to history. Well on his way to a career-defining victory, Woods strolled past then-9-year-old Julian Nexsen on his way to the 6th tee box and handed him his golf ball, a Titleist Professional from the previous hole.
Shortly after the ball was handed off, Nexsen was approached by Barker Davis, a reporter from the Washington Times, who interviewed Julian and his father about the experience. The following day, Nexsen awoke to his name in a front-page feature on Woods’ triumph.
“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, S.C.,” Baker wrote in his piece.
Nexsen kept the golf ball and a framed copy of the newspaper — replete with the 1997 Masters badge — in his possession for 26 years before consigning it to auction with Golden Age several weeks ago. The auction opened with a starting bid of $500 and gradually gained momentum over the first week. Last Saturday, a flurry of bids pushed that golf ball, retail price of around $3, to an astounding $64,124.40 when the lot closed out.
Paying more than $60,000 for a golf ball might seem suboptimal to those who don’t appreciate golf memorabilia. But consider this: As Golden Age noted in the auction description, “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.”
When you look at it that way, $64,124.40 for a piece of golf history seems like a bargain. Especially when you put it up against the “Tiger Slam” irons that recently fetched $5.1 million, and Woods’ Scotty Cameron Newport 2 GSS putter that sold for almost $400,000 last year.
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