Bizarre rules violation proves costly for pair

A big year for Tiger Woods memorabilia continues to get bigger. The irons Woods purportedly used to win the Tiger Slam and one of Woods’ backup putters have already sold at auction this year. The irons fetched a record $5 million, setting the standard for the priciest piece of golf memorabilia ever sold. The putter, which was signed by Woods, sold for more than $300,000. Now a glove worn by Woods during his greatest performance and one of his trademark red shirts that he wore at Augusta National are up for auction, as is another putter once belonging to Woods. All three items were signed by Woods, as well. Golden Age Auctions, the same firm that conducted the auction for the Tiger Slam irons and signed Scotty Cameron, is hosting the auction for these latest items, as well. The glove was worn by Woods during his 15-shot win in the 2000 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. According to Golden Age auctions, Woods signed the glove and dated it “6/18/00” shortly after putting out on the 72nd hole. Woods gave the signed glove to his caddie, Steve Williams. Golden Age said it sent the glove to two of the foremost autograph authenticators in the world, and letters of authenticity from both accompany the glove. The red shirt was worn by Woods in the final round of the 2010 Masters, where he finished fourth. The certificate of authenticity from Upper Deck states that one of the company’s representatives watched Woods sign the shirt and that the item was “legally procured directly from Tiger Woods.” The shirt also was “marked with proprietary invisible ink that contains a patented strand of synthetic DNA, which will fluoresce under a calibrated laser,” according to a certificate of authenticity from PSA/DNA Authentication Services. “It is our understanding that this may be the only Sunday Red shirt from the Masters Tournament in private hands,” the item’s description states, “and the only obtained directly from Tiger’s exclusive memorabilia partner, Upper Deck Authenticated.” The signed putter is a Nike Method, a model used by Woods in 2010. The putter came directly from Woods’ longtime agent, Mark Steinberg, who donated it to a 2014 charity auction. It is unknown if Woods ever used the putter in competition, but it is believed to be the first time an item directly from Woods’ team has been made available at auction. The putter includes a signed letter from Steinberg stating that he observed Woods signing the club. “This putter is nothing short of remarkable,” reads the item’s description. “It is a custom Nike Method putter with ‘TW’ logo on one side of the hosel and ‘Tiger Woods’ on the other. It also contains the serial number TW 9.10.2P. We sent this photo to a former employee of Nike’s famed Oven, who confirmed that this putter was produced for Tiger Woods in or around 2010, and that it was ‘made for Tiger to game on tour.’ The putter also contains one more special detail. This Nike putter is fitted with a blacked out rubber PING grip – Tiger’s preferred grip to use on his gamers.” The auction for these items closes at 8 p.m. on Dec. 10, the same day that Woods plays in Capital One’s The Match. Woods and Rory McIlroy are teaming up to take on Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas in that competitions.

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DUBLIN, Ohio — The Memorial Tournament presented by Workday has another player who appears to be running away with the tournament. Billy Horschel will get a chance to finish the job. One year after Jon Rahm built a six-shot lead — only to withdraw after the third round because of a positive COVID-19 test — Horschel delivered a gem at Muirfield Village on Saturday with a 7-under 65 for a five-shot lead. Not only did Horschel make seven birdies, he has gone 44 consecutive holes without a bogey on a course where the greens have been getting increasingly firm under more sunshine that this tournament is used to seeing. Horschel chipped in for birdie on his opening hole. Everything else was simply solid, with only one other birdie putt outside the 10-foot range. He was at 13-under 203, five shots clear of Aaron Wise (69) and Cameron Smith (72). Horschel cared more about how he was playing — very well — than the size of his lead. “I just go to the tee understanding I’m leading the tournament. I know I’ve got however many shots I have ahead,” he said. “I’m not going to be protective, I’m not going to be overly aggressive. I’m going to play the way I have the last three days. We’re going to hit the golf shots that are required, and I know if we do that it’s going to give me the best chance to be victorious come tomorrow.” He will be going for his seventh PGA TOUR victory. Daniel Berger had a 67 and six shots behind along with Jhonattan Vegas and former Open Champion Francesco Molinari, who hasn’t had a top-five finish since the 2019 Masters. “I’m just happy to be up there,” Molinari said. “Billy is a really good player, but in golf you never know. On a course like this, it’s showing today that if you hit the fairways you get plenty of chances and you can shoot 6-, 7-under par. If you start missing fairways it’s a whole different challenge. I think there’s going to be an outside chance, but it’s just nice to be kind of up there.” Smith started with a one-shot lead and ran into trouble immediately, with bogeys from the bunker on the first two holes. He played alongside Denny McCarthy, who on three occasions in the first hour was putting for birdie from closer than where Smith was putting for par. It was a struggle for Smith to get back to even for the day, but by then, Horschel was starting to pull away from everybody. He took the lead with a wedge to 3 feet for birdie on the par-5 seventh, and then stuffed his tee shot to a front pin within 6 feet on the par-3 eighth. He made birdie on all the par 5s. The four times he missed the green, he chipped in on No. 1 for birdie and made tough saves from bunkers and a delicate pitch behind the 12th green that ran quickly away from him. Smith saved himself one shot at the end. The greens are firm enough that anything in the rough makes it hard to stop near the hole. Smith’s shot from deep grass right of the 18th fairway bounded to the back of the green with a front pin. The Aussie went with a flop shop that trickled near the hole and settled 3 feet away for par. Rory McIlroy started the third round just three shots out of the lead, but as everyone else around him was piling up birdies, McIlroy was stuck on pars. He didn’t make his first birdie until the 11th hole and shot 73 to fall nine shots behind. Defending champion Patrick Cantlay began his round by pulling his tee shot into a stream and making double bogey. He atoned for that with a pair of eagles, finished with three straight par putts from outside 8 feet and shot 69. He was seven beind. That would appear to be too far back — the largest comeback at the Memorial is five shots, most recently 15 years ago by K.J. Choi. Then again, players have rallied from seven shots behind to win the last two weeks by Sam Burns at Colonial and by Justin Thomas at the PGA Championship at Southern Hills. “I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s any different,” Wise said. “Anything is possible.”

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