2019 April Memorabilia Auction Featuring PGA REACH Collection
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 4/14/2019
Ernie Els Signed 1997 US Open Final Rd Winning Sunday Worn Shirt & Hat
"There was a four-way shootout, and I was fortunate enough to get through it," Els responded to a reporter asking how he did it. The less fortunate were Tom Lehman, Colin Montgomerie and Jeff Maggert at the 1997 US Open. 'The Big Easy' got his nickname for his large body frame as well as fluid, effortless swing. It is no surprise to anyone that Els wears an XXL shirt. 1997 marked his second US Open title in four years. Like any major title winners, Sunday the South African was popular with photographers. This presentation includes Ernie Els' exact Ashworth shirt he was wearing that final day of the 1997 US Open, as well as his TaylorMade hat seen in those trophy presentation photos. The red and white striped shirt and hat were donated by Els to a charity auction through a Sunday newspaper reporter that had the intuition, realizing their value, to request them from the champion after it was all said and done that day. At that charity auction the pair were won by a fellow South African. That South African then made the decision to meet Ernie himself and authenticate them, when the opportunity presented itself. The Big Easy signed the shirt and penned "1997 US Open," the hat and a couple of photos of Els wearing the shirt. During that meeting Els went a step further, hand-writing a note stating "This is the shirt that I won the US Open in 1997! Best Wishes Ernie Els." All of this is culminated in one presentation, located in this auction lot. Tournament-worn memorabilia from major champions is difficult to come by. This is THE shirt and hat that World Golf Hall-of-Famer Ernie Els wore to win his second US Open title at Congressional during the Sunday he hoisted the trophy. James Spence Authentication (JSA) has reviewed this signature, and their auction letter of authenticity comes with this lot.
AUCTION CLOSING RULES:
This auction will end at 9:00pm EST Sunday, April 14th, with EXTENDED BIDDING to follow. All items that have received multiple bids in the auction will remain open until no items have received a bid within a 15 minute time period (at 10pm EST, the countdown clock will be adjusted to a 5 minute interval)
1. You must place your initial bids BEFORE extended bidding begins in order to bid on the item in extended bidding
2. During extended bidding, you are allowed to bid only on items you PREVIOUSLY placed a bid on.
3. All lots that are active in extended bidding will close at the same time, and those with only ONE or NO BIDS will close at 9pm EST
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