Tiger Woods' 18-year-old handwritten letter sold for $25,620

A handwritten letter from Tiger Woods from when the legendary golfer was just 18 years old has been sold at auction. The unique piece of Woods memorabilia was purchased for $25,620. Almost everything with any connection to the golfer, can and will be sold for a pretty nice profit, including a used golf bag, a signed glove, and his trophies.

This letter while being another example of that, is unlike most items sold before. This was a personal note from Woods to a golf fan touching on the subject of racism in golf. It's an intimate and specific piece of writing from the golfing legend.

The letter was written three decades ago to golf fan Chad Jones, who held onto it for a very long time. Eventually, he decided to sell the letter from the 82-time PGA Tour winner.

Interestingly, Jones has donated the proceeds to the Tiger Woods Foundation, saying (via cllct.com):

“I just thought how cool it would be to send a kid to college using Tiger’s letter to me."

---

What did Tiger Woods' letter say?

Chad Jones, all the way back in 1993, had written a letter to the future PGA Tour golfer. Tiger Woods was gracious enough to write back, something not guaranteed when writing to a sportsperson.

Tiger Woods' letter discussed racism (Getty)

In the letter, Woods said (via bunkered.co.uk):

"To Chad, I appreciate you taking the time and interest to write to me. I completely agree with you that racism is unfortunately part of the game of golf. I am excited that you are writing on this topic because this is something that has been a significant part of golf and is something we should start talking about."

Woods was at the time two years away from turning pro, and was experiencing a ton of amateur success. He told Jones that he'd received a death threat after making his PGA Tour debut at the LA Open in 1992. This came three months after he turned 16.

Woods recounted a specific incident where he had received a slur, with the Navy GC. Woods wrote (via cllct):

"Back when they were in the military the blacks were either cooks, porters, or low-ranking officers. Then comes along my father who is a retired lieutenant colonel from the Green Berets (a special forces group in the Army) who has the audacity to have a kid who can beat most of the membership and who just happens to be black. This brings on jealousy and from that, you can understand how this kind of statement can be made."

He added:

“These are not the only remarks of this kind. I have had other such remarks, but I just can’t seem to remember them clearly."

Two months later, Woods would become the youngest golfer to win the U.S. Amateur.