Ed Furgol's 1948 The Masters Tournament Invitation in Original Envelope
Only 57 players qualified for the field for the 1948 Masters Tournament, with a matching number of the famous Augusta National Golf Club invitations from The Board of Governors sent out 74 years ago. In Ed Furgol's mailbox was this example, the eventual 6th place finisher and T-2 after the first round with Ben Hogan and three others behind only Lloyd Mangrum. Rarity of a 1948 series badge, commanding high four figures, is multiplied exponentially when calculating this player-only relic.
The tournament would be a memorable one three years removed from the WWII pause. Winged Foot's head professional Claude Harmon became the only player not on the regular PGA tour to ever win the Masters. In the process Harmon tied the then low score for the Masters with 279, 9-under par. His margin of victory over Cary Middlecoff, in second place, was 5 shots, and this stood as a record until 1955 when Middlecoff won by 7. This was also the last Masters that Bobby Jones played in. Tied for 6th in just his second Masters tournament of 1948. January 29th is the date in which is was sent out for that year's tournament (1948) for those that wondered how much time the players had to prepare, despite knowingly qualifying prior and assuming the invite of course. This prize from the Masters Tournament paper ephemera subcategory remains in very good condition, housed and preserved in its original envelope to Ed Furgol accompanying it in this lot.
The Golf Auction is proud to present this our final auction of 2022. This eclectic group of memorabilia represents all areas of the golf collecting world, so please utilize the categories column to help navigate you towards your preferred collectibles. Bids must be placed before 10pm ET, Sunday, December 18th in order to participate in extended bidding
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