19th Hole

Agent says Tiger Slam clubs not legit; Auction co-founder hits back: ‘We faced this last time they sold’

Published

2 years ago

Mar 25, 2022

Yesterday, GolfWRX reported that the clubs used for Tiger Woods’ legendary Tiger Slam in 2000 and 2001 were up for auction.

At the time of reporting, the current top bid was $297,955, with the close of auction dated for Masters Sunday, the 9th of April.

Related: ‘Acting like a child’ – The disagreement that led Tiger Woods to ignore his caddie for 6 holes at the 2003 Masters

However, according to Golf Digest’s Dan Rapaport, there is a question-mark over the set’s authenticity. In a tweet posted yesterday afternoon, Rapaport said:

”Update—Woods’ agent Mark Steinberg denied the legitimacy of the irons. Tiger has the authentic set of the Slam irons his house,” he said when reached for comment.”

Update—Woods’ agent Mark Steinberg denied the legitimacy of the irons.

“Tiger has the authentic set of the Slam irons his his house," he said when reached for comment.

Golden Age Auctions stands by listing: “We would not put anything up for sale we weren’t wholly confident in.” https://t.co/ekkEAHoOEq

— Dan Rapaport (@Daniel_Rapaport) March 24, 2022

Golden Age Auctions are standing by the provenance of the lot, owned by businessman Tod Brock for the past 12 years, commenting, “We would not put anything up for sale we weren’t wholly confident in.”

Bidding had moved on to $327,750 by the time of the tweet and is now at $527,846 at the time of this piece. The clubs are expected to fetch seven figures by the close of the auction.

“I got to enjoy them for 11-12 years,” said Brock on his reason for selling after paying just $57,242 for the irons in 2010. “I live a boring life. I don’t entertain a whole lot, so they weren’t getting the eyes on them that they deserve.”

On the GolfWRX Facebook page, co-founder of Golden Age Golf Auctions, Bob Zafian, further refuted the claims reportedly made by Steinberg that the irons were not authentic. Zafian wrote:

“I got these myself back then from a VP at Titleist. Then I hired a polygraph examiner, and there’s much more proof and affidavits.”, and added “We faced this last time they sold. Not unexpected.”

Current owner and co-founder of Golden Age Golf Auctions, has also come out to defend the listing saying:

“The two Titleist executives who were in charge of Tiger’s clubs have signed sworn affidavits asserting their legitimacy, one took a polygraph and passed it, and the original buyer in 2010 did his due diligence as well.

And just take a look at the 8-iron wear mark. That club was clearly struck in the dead center thousands of times by the greatest ball-striker in the world. If Tiger believes he has these clubs at his house, we’d love to see them.

This is what we do. And this is my livelihood. I would not put anything up for sale that I wasn’t wholly confident in.”

It’s worth noting that back in 2020 when Tiger showed off his impressive golf club collection from his home, the only ‘Tiger Slam’ club that Woods showed the cameras was his driver.

The final offer will surely beat the current most expensive lot in golf history – the first green jacket won by Horton Smith – sold for $682,000 at auction in 2013, and this debate can only fuel the publicity and, ultimately, more bids.

The Open TV ratings don’t make for pretty reading

Published

4 hours ago

Jul 24, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

According to Josh Carpenter of Sports Business Journal, last week’s Open Championship suffered its lowest television rating in almost a decade.

NBC and Peacock drew 3.39M viewers on Sunday for Xander Schauffele’s two-shot win in @TheOpen, down 4% from last year and Brian Harman.

That’s the lowest number for the final round since Zach Johnson’s win in 2015, which finished on a Monday on ESPN (cable) pic.twitter.com/9r7guxnfx1

— Josh Carpenter (@JoshACarpenter) July 23, 2024

The final round was down four percent from Brian Harman’s win in 2023 at Royal Liverpool, which offered very little drama down the stretch. It was the lowest-rated final round since Zach Johnson’s win in 2015 at St. Andrews: and that was a Monday finish.

Stars such as Rory McIlroy, Bryson DeChambeau, Ludvig Aberg, Viktor Hovland all missed the cut, which may have contributed to the lack of interest from casual golf fans.

This year, the Masters and The Open have decreased in ratings while the PGA Championship and U.S. Open saw an uptick. It’s fair to speculate whether the inclusion of Bryson DeChambeau deep into contention had an impact.

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While you’re here, check out BK’s look at Xander’s Open-winning WITB.

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19th Hole

‘That looks brutal’ – First photo of Tiger Woods’ leg without sleeve shows depth of injury

Published

1 day ago

Jul 23, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

It’s been a struggle of late for Tiger Woods on the golf course. The 15-time major champion has only teed it up five times in 2024, finishing 60th in The Masters and missing the cut in the other three majors. He also played in the Genesis Invitational and was forced to withdraw.

Woods has many ailments, but none as debilitating as his surgically repaired leg. Since his car accident three years ago, the 48-year-old has rarely been seen without wearing a leg sleeve. However, on Monday, a fan was able to take a photograph of Woods’ leg without the sleeve.

@blakebunkersgolf IG

??? #LOOK: A photo has emerged of Tiger Woods without his leg sleeve @TWlegion

(Via: blakebunkersgolf/IG) pic.twitter.com/ppaGLdXg8X

— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) July 22, 2024

The photo was taken at an event Tiger’s son, Charlie, was playing in by “blakebunkersgolf” on Instagram, and one of the top responses on X towards the photo was simply “That looks brutal.”

Woods has struggled with the lack of reps on the course but hasn’t given any indication as to whether his schedule will look any different come 2025.

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While you’re here, check out BK’s look at Xander Schauffele’s winning WITB.

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19th Hole

John Daly says this is the best golf course in Scotland…and it’s not St. Andrews

Published

1 day ago

Jul 23, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

John Daly withdrew at last week’s Open Championship with a knee injury, but the 58-year-old was back on the links this week showcasing one of the most famous golf courses in the world for his fans.

While at Trump Turnberry, John Daly recorded a video of the 18th green.

In the video, the 1995 Open Champion shared his opinion that Turnberry is the best golf course in Scotland, even better than St. Andrews.

?????????? #BEST OF THE BEST — John Daly says Trump Turnberry beats out St Andrews for the title of best golf course in Scotland.

Do you agree?

(Via: @LGlick1) pic.twitter.com/Ya7FIJEfp2

— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) July 22, 2024

“Hey everybody, John Daly here. I’m at Trump Turnberry today. I went out and tried to play a little bit. This place is amazing. It is the best golf course in Scotland, I think. St. Andrews is my baby, but I think I just found my new baby. I’m at the 18th green right here, this thing is unreal.”

Turnberry hosted its first Open Championship in 1977, which was dubbed “The Duel in the Sun” when Tom Watson beat Jack Nicklaus by a single stroke. The most recent Open the course hosted was 2009, where Watson almost won again, but lost to Stewart Cink in a playoff.

The course is not slated to host any Open Championships in the foreseeable future.