Tiger Woods' 2002 Backup Putter Sells For $393,300

A private bidder paid nearly $400,000 for Woods' 2002 Scotty Cameron Newport 2 backup putter, the club that Woods used for 14 of his 15 Major victories.

Tiger Woods' 2002 Backup Putter Sells For $393,300

Tiger Woods is one of the sporting greats, with 15 Major titles and 82 PGA Tour victories. So when a putter designed for the man himself came up for auction, it was obviously going to garner some attention.

Golden Age Golf Auctions is one of the leading brands in buying and selling quality, rare golf memorabilia in the United States, and when the company announced the Scotty Cameron putter made for Woods was going to be sold, bidding was obviously going to make for fun viewing.

The bidding opened on the 12th August with a $25,000 minimum. Within an hour the price was up to $27,500. Fourteen bids later, on 26th August, the price was up to $104,431.

On Saturday, the final day of the auction, a number of private bids came in pushing the price to $223,858, then $297,955 and then $327,750. The final bid, which won the private bidder the club, was $393,300.

The Scotty Cameron was made in 2002 to be an exact replica of Tiger’s Newport 2, something Woods could keep as a backup in case there was ever an issue with his actual putter.

According to Golden Age, Cameron produced one or two backup putters each year for Woods, but there are fewer than 10 known to exist.

There are a few personal touches which show the detail Woods went into with the design of the putter. Measuring 34 inches long, it is made from German stainless steel (GSS) and features a single dot on the topline; most Newport 2 putters have an alignment line.

Another feature of the putter sold at auction are the large red dots on the front and back. Those dots were made because Woods loved the putter Cameron made for him, but asked if it could be made a few grams lighter.

For the weight to be decreased without changing the look, Cameron carefully drilled out tiny pockets in the face and back of the head, then filled them with red paint to make them more stylish.

Woods' putter wasn't the only item being sold in the auction; other memorabilia included Gary Player’s 1974 Masters Tournament trophy ($523,483), a 1904 Olympic Games golf trophy ($493,777.20), Billy Casper’s 1966 US Open trophy ($30,326) and a Tiger Woods autographed Nike golf ball ($9,532.80).