Early Tiger Woods autographs pre-dating his monumental 1997 Mastersvictory are hard to come by in the hobby. Single signed golf balls fromthis era? Virtually non-existent. For starters, it is well-documentedthat Tiger—always the perfectionist—has never liked signing golf ballsdue to the inconsistencies the little cratered sphere gives hissignature. In fact, he reportedly has not signed any for fans sinceshortly after he turned pro. Secondly, Upper Deck Authenticated—Woods’exclusive memorabilia and autograph partner since 2001—has regulated thetype of items Tiger signs, particularly golf balls, making this offeredlot 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 theMasters and The Open Championship as an amateur while competing forStanford, but this was the first tournament he could actually receive apaycheck. He shot under par both Thursday and Friday to sit in 8th placeentering the weekend, but ended up 60th place. Seven months later hewould begin his unprecedented run with 14 majors in 11 years, dominatingthe golf world unlike any player has before or since.

The Titleist 2 golf ball, labeled “DT ^ 2 – Piece” on the side, has theofficial “GMO” logo for the Greater Milwaukee Open. Tiger has left hislovely 9/10 autograph in black marker. According to our consignor, whoran a sports operations business for over 20 years that worked on-sitefor numerous PGA events, the autographed ball was procured by a PGAcaddie at the 1996 tournament with whom the consignor became friends. Itis unknown if this ball was actually used by Tiger over the four-daytournament (Aug. 29-Sept. 1), but there is a good possibility. The caddie wishes to remain anonymous toprotect 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.