It’s the kind of discovery that a golf fan can only dream about: a familiar green blazer, embroidered with Augusta National’s famous logo, waiting unnoticed in a heap of used clothes with a $5 tag affixed to the sleeve. One lucky person plucked just such a jacket from neglect back in 1994, and this weekend that keen eye paid off handsomely. The jacket was sold for nearly $140,000 over the weekend to a private bidder.
The jacket has been confirmed as authentic by Augusta National, although the club refuses to provide further information about its origins. Golf memorabilia experts at Green Jacket Auctions believe that the jacket dates from the 1950s. No one knows if it belonged to a member or a champion.
“Perhaps Augusta National knows something about this jacket that they aren’t telling us,” reads the description of the jacket on the auction house’s website. “Until they do, the mystery of its original owner will continue to be the subject of curiosity and speculation.”
