The Tiger Woods irons he used to win four majors in a row from 2000 to 2001 sold at auction for a record-breaking price. The Titleist 681-T iron set that helped Woods win the “Tiger Slam” sold for US$5,156,162 at Golden Age Auctions on Sunday, shattering all previous records for golf memorabilia held by Horton Smith’s green jacket, which sold in 2013 for US$682,000. The clubs were first bought in 2010 by Houston businessman Todd Brock, who kept them in a frame in his office, but said the market was ready to realise the real value of the golf collectibles. He wasn’t wrong. “I’ve had them for 12 years now, and I haven’t told anybody that I owned them. They were in a really nice frame in my office and I’m not an investor in memorabilia, so nobody was seeing the irons,” Brock said. “I’ve had the opportunity to see these for 12 years and it’s like a Rembrandt, where somebody takes it to their castle and it’s never seen again. I felt blessed that I got to hang out with them and look at them, but it’s time for somebody else to do something bigger and better with them.” Bidding started at modest US$25,000 but quickly escalated. In the final hours of the bidding, the price leapt by millions. The set included two PW Titleist Forged irons and two custom Vokey wedges stamped “TIGER”. The 58-degree wedge is bent to 56 degrees and hand stamped “56*”, while there is an incredible wear mark on the face of the 8 iron. The Tiger Slam irons come with affidavits, declarations of ownership and a 2010 polygraph result from former Titleist vice-president Steve Mata as well as a 2020 affidavit from another Titleist executive Rick Nelson. Golden Age, the auction house responsible for the sale, said previous bids on Tiger Woods collectibles had all fetched high prices. Two Masters trophies have sold for US$500,000 each and last month a 1934 Masters ticket sold for US$600,000. Timing of the auction could not have been better, as Woods stages a remarkable return to competition after a February 2021 automobile accident that left him hospitalised for weeks and unable to walk for months after. Several days into competition however, that magic the five-time Masters champion summoned so easily for so long was waning. On Saturday his 6-over 78 marked his worst in 93 career rounds at the tournament he has come to define, and left him at 7-over. A noticeable limp from his surgically repaired right leg grew more pronounced as the game continued and the 46-year-old slipped further down the leader board to end whatever chance – however unlikely – of being a factor come late Sunday afternoon. “I just could not get a feel for getting comfortable with the ball,” Woods said. “Posture, feel, my right hand, my release, I just couldn’t find it.” But he remained positive, despite the hardships he has faced. “Never give up. Always chase after your dreams,” said Woods. “Each and every day presents its own different challenges for all of us. I wake up and start the fight all over again.”