A little piece of Masters history has emerged that serves as a reminder that no one player, no matter how great their skill or big their transgression, is greater than the collective history of the sport.

A moving tribute to Ben Hogan, delivered to the legendary golfer on the eve of the 1949 Masters soon after his near-fatal automobile accident, in the form of an autographed photo signed by 97 golfers, including 10 of the first 11 Masters champions, as well as writers, employees and masters Chairman Clifford Roberts, presented as part of Heritage Auctions April 23 Signature Sports Memorabilia auction.

Two months prior to the start of the 1949 Masters, Hogan was involved in a devastating head-on collision with a Greyhound bus on a fog-veiled bridge near Van Horn, Texas. His pelvis, collarbone and ankle were shattered, internal bleeding formed life-threatening clots and damage to his left eye shrouded his vision. Doctors were uncertain if Hogan would ever walk again; none, however, doubted that his golf career had been ended.

“This signed photograph was a ‘get well card’ from the entire professional golf community,” Heritage Auction Director Chris Ivy said, “with an inscription that begins, ‘To Our Friend Ben Hogan, on the eve of the 1949 Masters Tournament we send you heartfelt good wishes for a speedy and complete recovery.’”

Highlights of some of the 97 autographs on the card include some of the most iconic names in the sport’s history, with Bobby Jones, Horton Smith, Gene Sarazen, Byron Nelson, Claude Harmon and Sam Snead among the signers the most important signers.

The signed photo was consigned by Douglas McGrath, an employee of Hogan’s. The great golfer gifted the signed photo to McGrath during his time of employment, and it has remained in McGrath’s private collection ever since. This marks the first time that this amazing piece will be offered to the public.

“Clearly this photo was treasured by Hogan, and served as partial inspiration for his miraculous recovery and return to greatness on the links,” said Ivy. “Perhaps more importantly, today it serves as an inspiring reminder of what makes The Masters, and the game of golf, one of the most important and timeless of all sporting events.”

Upper Deck Company, one of the few that stood behind the world’s most famous golfer, will offer a series of new Tiger Woods signature items as Woods returns from what UD is calling “a 144-day hiatus”…as a strange new Nike commercial featuring Tiger and his late father hits the air.

To coincide with Tiger’s quest for a fifth green jacket from Augusta, Upper Deck Authenticated (UDA) – the company’s memorabilia division–will unveil new autographed items , many of which commemorate this week’s arrival of the four-time Masters champion.

“We’re extremely excited to showcase these five latest products celebrating Tiger’s return to the PGA Tour,” said Richard McWilliam, Upper Deck’s CEO and Founder. “We wish him well this week as we’ve put together some pretty compelling items that we’re confident collectors will no doubt cherish for years to come.”

Woods has served as an exclusive autograph signer for UDA since 2001 and remains one of Upper Deck’s best-selling athletes of all-time. The five new Tiger Woods signature that will be going on sale shortly include: 1.) Curved Display Case with Range-Driven Golf Ball and Autograph Label (limited to 50), $699.99; 2.) Curved Display Case with Range-Driven Golf Ball and Unsigned Photo (limited to 50), $199.99; 3.) Autographed Black TW Tour Flex Cap, same style worn by Tiger (limited to 100), $999.99; 4.) Autographed Air Zoom TW 2010 Golf Cleats, Black/Gunmetal, Size 11 (limited to 50), $1,399.99; and 5.) Autographed Carmine Dri-Fit Polo Shirt (limited to 100), $1,799.99.

Nike unveiled a new TV ad featuring a static image of Tiger staring into the camera while edited clips of his late father Earl play.  In the video released on You Tube, Earl Woods appears to be asking Woods about his sex scandal.  It’s a little like a Saturday Night Live skit about weird TV shows.

Bobby Jones autographed photo

The check that “Old Tom” Morris used to purchase the building and shop on Links Road in St. Andrews, the ancestral home of golf is part of a grouping of golf autographs up for bid in a sports memorabilia auction scheduled for April.

The Mark Emerson collection includes every Hall of Fame golfer except “Young Tom” Morris – of whom there are no known surviving signatures.

The check with “Old Tom’s” signature is one of very few known copies of the legendary golfer’s autograph. It is estimated at $6,000-$8,000.  This exact item, a check for 800 pounds, gave him outright title to the building and shop on Links Road in St. Andrews that bears his name to this day.

Also in the auction is an exceptionally high quality signed Bobby Jones photo from the 1920s.

“An autographed photo of this caliber is entirely appropriate of Jones, America’s most beloved golfer and the winner of an astonishing 13 majors in eight years, between 1923 and 1930,” said Mike Gutierrez of Heritage Auctions. “This is a special relic relating to possibly the most timeless name in all of American golf.”

Another important American golfing icon, Walter Hagen, is equally well-represented in the Heritage Auctions April Sports Memorabilia sale, with 1924 signed letter, written on Royal Liverpool stationery with a full fountain pen signature. The spectacular content belies the bravado of the new British Open Champion. It is estimated at $4,000-$6,000.

“On behalf of Mrs. Hagen and myself,” he wrote, “I thank British golfers for the great and cordial reception and many kindnesses we have received while with you to play in the Open Championship. I did not come to win it but to try for it and to enjoy the sportsmanship and friendship which has always been extended in such abundance. With my fellow countrymen I look to the Little Island as the home of golf and it is always a joy to play amongst you. I shall try to come next year and defend the title I am so proud to win. Sincerely yours, (signed) Walter Hagen.”

British golf fans who know their history beyond “Old Tom” and “Young Tom” Morris will be intrigued by the inclusion of an exceedingly are 1865 Andrew Strath handwritten and signed wage receipt, possibly the only Strath signature in existence, estimated at $10,000-$15,000.

Strath became the “Keeper of the Greens” at Prestwick in 1865, following “Old Tom” Morris’s resignation and move to St. Andrews, and promptly won the Open Championship at his new home course. He was a brilliant player in golf’s infancy with four other top four finishes in the Open. Sadly he died of tuberculosis in 1868, making this signed and dated receipt for wages the rarest of the rare in major golf championship memorabilia. Remarkably, his unmarked grave was recently discovered and now a commemorative plaque identifies the forgotten Champion.

The auction takes place April 22-23.  Further highlights of the collection include, but are not limited to:

1918 Johnny McDermott Signed Photograph: In 1911, Johnny McDermott became the first American-born player to win the National Golf Championship and, to this day, McDermott is the youngest US Open Champion of all time at age 19. All previous US Open winners (1895-1910) had been born in the U.K. In 1912, McDermott won again, but shortly after being rescued from a ship accident in 1914, McDermott blacked out at his host club in Atlantic City and he spent the balance of his life in mental hospitals. This is an extremely rare and significant piece, the only known signed photo of McDermott known to exist. Estimate: $2,000-$4,000.

1894 A.F. MacFie Signed Scorecard: The first British Amateur Championship was held in 1885 at Hoylake and was won by MacFie. Nine years later, young Freddie Tait, who himself would win the Amateur twice (in 1896 and 1898) played a challenge match at The Old Course against “Old Tom” Morris and shot a then course record 72. In Tait’s own hand, he wrote down his scores on this sheet and had it attested by none other than A. F. MacFie. This is the only known signature of the first British Amateur Champion. Estimate: $3,000-$5,000.

1888 John Ball, Jr. Handwritten Signed Letter: John Ball Jr. is the most prolific winner of amateur titles in the history of golf. From 1888-1912 he captured the British Amateur Championship no less than eight times and in 1890 he won the Open Championship. Estimate: $3,000-$5,000.

Circa 1920 Harold H. Hilton Signed Photograph: Harold Hilton had an extremely distinguished career, winning the British Amateur title four times from 1900 to 1913. In that span he also won a US Amateur, in 1911 at Apawamis. If that wasn’t enough, he also won two Open Championships as an amateur–in 1892 at Muirfield and in 1897 at Hoylake. This is an original Sport & General Press Agency photo on original studio mount, signed boldly by the seven time major Champ. Very rare. Image size is 6 x 8, with mount expanding the final dimensions to 8 x 10.5. The signature rates an impressive 8/10. Estimate: $2,000-$4,000.

1937 Jim Barnes Signed Photograph: “Long Jim” Barnes was one of golf’s early stars, winning the very first U.S. PGA Golf Championship in 1916 at Siwanoy. After a two year hiatus for World War I, he won again in 1919, and in 1921 he added the US Open title to his credit with President Warren Harding there in person to present the trophy. His final major championship win came when Prestwick hosted its last British Open in 1925. Estimate: $2,000-$4,000.

While some sports seem a little stagnant in terms of growth in the collectible market, golf continues to grow at a steady pace. The simple and quiet sport has motivated a lot of people to do just more than tee it up. Collecting golf memorabilia can range from antique clubs and balls to signed trading cards pulled from packs in recent years. Some golf collectors see their stash as art.

One way of preserving the rich history and progress of a sport such as golf is to actually paint out visuals that can tell its stories as well as that of the people behind its success. This is why golf art is enjoying popularity in the ranks of golf collectibles. The person having such in his grasp can truly feel the passion within every picture displayed. Tiger Woods has been the focus of more golf art in his relatively short career than perhaps any player in history.

A golf gallery can be produced using the traditional golf collectibles of clubs and balls. These items can then be paired up with elegant and antique golf photos of both tournament highlights and the courses on which sport is played. There can also be prints of players in their most intense features or simply during their humane times of smiles and laughter. Enthusiasts have the privilege to put up a stage wherein the game becomes alive. This can be spiced up and brought to a notch higher by adding golf murals and designs that will perfectly slate the person’s golfing identity.

It’s a piece of Americana that appeals to golf memorabilia collectors, baseball collectors and those who collect entertainment items.  A golf scorecard from a star-studded foursome goes on the auction block next week.

Babe Ruth, Bob Hope, Big Grosby and then-California governor Culbert Olson apparently got together in Sacramento to play for charity on March 1, 1942.  Charles Robertson, a member of the Sacramento Municipal Golf Course, followed them   that day and secured autographs of all four on the scorecard. The autographs are signed in pencil   that was kept by Robertson and then his heirs the past 67 years.

“My grandfather was an avid golfer, but we didn’t know he still had this autographed scorecard until we were going through his possessions after he passed away in 1993 at the age of 72.  It was a surprise to find it,” said Steve Hansen of Sacramento, who consigned the scorecard on behalf of his family.    “The match play tournament scorecard only goes through the 16th hole.  Hope and Crosby apparently had won at that point, and left to catch a flight to attend a charity dinner elsewhere that evening,” explained Hansen, who said he inherited his enjoyment of golf from his grandfather and father.

The auction concludes October 1.

The owner of a golf memorabilia auction house is suing the company that has an exclusive paid autograph contract with Tiger Woods.

Robert Zafian, co-owner of Green Jacket Auctions in New Jersey, claims he mailed six pin flags that were used in previous Masters tournaments to the Upper Deck Company in California,  but now the company says it doesn’t know what happened to them.   Woods was supposed  to autograph the flags at a price of $800 each.  It’s a practice Zafian has done before but this time, the six flags never made it back to him.

He’s now suing Upper Deck for $40,000, which is the value of the flags when autographed according to his attorney.

Zafian’s attorney claims UDA Authenticated emailed Green Jacket auctions in April, two months after they were shipped to California, and said Woods had completed the signing.

Zafian’s credit card was charged for $4700 (he got a $100 break on the price), but the charge has recently been reversed and Upper Deck has offered only a $200 payment per flag.

Upper Deck and Zafian discussed options for several weeks after it admitted the flags were lost, but nothing happened.

Woods signed a number of items during the private session, many of which are now being sold at  The Upper Deck Store.

It’s not really his “rookie” card since Tiger Woods had already been playing on the Tour for 5 years when  the 2001 Upper Deck SP Authentic golf cards came out, but it was UD’s first swing at the sport. Owning the rights to market Tiger Woods autographs didn’t hurt Upper Deck’s position in the market, either.

Now, the 2001 SP Authentic Tiger autographed card seems to be the gold standard online. Prices have dropped a bit from the pre-knee surgery days, but they’re still pricey. A PSA 10 SP Authentic Woods autographed card recently sold for $4000 on eBay. The same card was selling quite a bit higher last year. A PSA 9 went for $2885 and a BGS 9 for $2650, leaving the obvious impression that the ‘gem mint’ cards are being purchased strictly for their investment potential as the ultra-rare best of the best. In fact, it’s likely those who are buying the ‘9’s are also sticking them away in hopes of selling just after whatever milestone Tiger reaches next.

Average collectors can find them for less than $2000 ungraded or in lower professional grades. It’s the autograph, of course, that drives the price up. It’s not enough anymore to collect ‘rookie cards’ unless they’re autographed. At least that’s the mentality of the modern era collector. Kind of sad, but you have to admit the cards are pretty sharp.

Kind of surprising to see over 2400 golf trading cards on eBay right now.

Ever check the bid leaderboard outside the clubhouse? No matter if it’s a major PGA Tour event or your club championship, you can see scores posted hole-by-hole, round-by-round when volunteers get out their magic markers and posterboard.

At this year’s U.S. Open, they became golf memorabilia. The individual player sheets and round-by-round leaderboards were sold in a fundraising auction for the Metropolitan Golf Association Foundation and the Long Island Caddie Scholarship Fund.

Two of the scorecard strips sold for over $1000. The line chronicling champion Lucas Glover’s tournament brought $2510. Tiger Woods’ scoresheets sold for $1125, while the numbers for Phil Mickelson brought $550. For those seeking something unique, it was sort of a bargain. Many of the cards for players familiar to golf fans were purchased for $150 or less and some didn’t sell at all. The auction sort of flew under the radar, with only CNBC’s blog giving it much attention.

Here are the U.S. Open scoreboard auction results.

One of Tiger Woods’ top sponsors, the Upper Deck Company, is offering three of his golf shirts from last year’s U.S. Open win.

It’s the latest piece in the “athlete worn” genre that has attracted collectors looking for something a little more unique than your average trading card.

The company had Woods in for an autograph session recently, in which Tiger put his name and notation on the front of each shirt in black magic marker.  No word on whether they’ve been washed.

Woods has been an Upper Deck client since 2000, autographing a variety of memorabilia which is eventually sold at the UpperDeckStore.com.

The shirts are priced at…get this…$30-50,000 each.  It’s a boatload of cash, but autographed, game-worn jerseys from the likes of Michael Jordan, LeBron James and other superstars can fetch $20-30,000.  Regular Woods autographs on Upper Deck’s line of flags, photos and the like, are usually much less pricey.

Here’s video from Upper Deck’s shirt-signing session with Tiger, who got into contention for the epic battle with Rocco Mediate while wearing the shirts in June of 2008.

The timing couldn’t be better for Upper Deck.  On the heels of Tiger Woods’ first win of 2008, the company secured some fresh autographed trading cards for it’s upcoming products, including a special hockey set that includes a number of cards decidedly…not hockey.

Upper Deck’s Chris Carlin: “We recently had a signing with Tiger Woods and received back a limited amount of the 2008-09 NHL Champ’s mini-signature cards.  They packed out as exchange cards, but we will begin fulfilling any requests received for them next week.  It will be interesting to see how activity goes on a smaller card like this of Tiger.  He signed four different versions with brown, purple, blue and black backs.  Each of the cards is VERY limited.”

Woods has an exclusive arrangement with Upper Deck.  Champs hockey singles, including at least one Tiger autographed card, are already showing up on eBay.