It is up for auction the golf ball Tiger Woods used to record his first ace as a professional at the December 1996 Greater Milwaukee Open. One of the spectators managed to get a signed ball. He decided to put this ball on the auction.
“It’s difficult to equate the significance of this ball to something in another sport,” says Chris Nerat, Sports Consignment Director at Heritage Auctions, as quoted by www.golfbytourmiss.com “This is more than just someone hitting a home run or scoring a touchdown in his first game, because those things, while exceedingly difficult and impressive, happen far more frequently than a hole-in-one.
Then you have to add in the act that Tiger Woods arrived with huge pressure. He had been on TV as a kid, and had won so much as an amateur that everyone who knew anything about golf knew exactly who he was. This wasn’t like a first-round pick who should become a great player.
He was tagged as a can’t-miss superstar. Maybe you could compare this to LeBron James, who came out of school with can’t-miss expectations, scoring 50 points in his debut or something like that. But there aren’t many parallels that can be drawn.”
Tiger Woods
Woods was a great talent but exceeded expectations. He showed that he is one of the biggest stars ever. “Tiger Woods had to be great … and fortunately for him, he exceeded all expectations,” Nerat said. “What he did at the Milwaukee Open — in his first professional tournament — is something that every golfer, professionals and amateurs alike, strive for … and the vast majority never achieve it in their lives.
That he did it in his first tournament was just magical, because it’s not like he crept up on anyone. He was worldwide news — more than any other player in the history of golf — before he played a single round as a pro.
So to do something so incredibly difficult, while playing under that kind of scrutiny, is one of those things that is almost so unbelievable it doesn’t make sense”.
