The golf ball played by Tiger Woods to score an ace in his PGA Tour pro debut sold for $186,000 this past weekend at the Heritage Auctions’ event.
The valuable ball was used at the former Greater Milwaukee Open in 1996. It has been owned by Wisconsin native Bob Gustin ever since.
The golf fan secured Woods’ Titleist ball when the then 20-year-old phenom tossed it into the gallery after his hole-in-one on the par-3 14th hole at Brown Deer Park Golf Course.
Gustin also got Woods to autograph the ball with the help of tournament director Tom Strong.
“Everyone knew that was a special piece,” Heritage sports consignment director Chris Nerat said. “How do you put a value on something like that?
“It’s such a unique piece. He only had three hole-in-ones during his PGA [Tour] career, and this was the first one in his pro debut.
“It’s a museum-caliber piece that is one of those once-in-a-generation. It’s never happened in the auction world that a golf ball has sold for that price. It was a special piece and got a special price, and we were very happy with the result.”
