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Permalink Reply by Benjamin Marik on March 20, 2019 at 3:31pm

Up front, the signature looks like a good attempt.  But I have to say that I've never seen his signature where he didn't use a tittle (dot the i).  It's usually between the T and W.  I also see what looks like a hesitation in the characters between the g and W.   If this were offered to me, I would pass.  Wait for others to chime in to see if they share the same concerns.

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Permalink Reply by BC on March 20, 2019 at 7:53pm

Him not dotting the i does happen. Here is mine I got in person in 2013. Sorry I can't help you, Andy. I'm not the best with older Tiger autographs or Tiger in general as his is pretty easy forge and I haven't studied his that much.

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Permalink Reply by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on March 20, 2019 at 9:39pm

It's hard to tell but I think it has a decent chance of being real.

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Permalink Reply by Andy Kimmel on March 21, 2019 at 10:29am

Well, as I have no intention of selling it, I’ll say that it’s 100% real, as I got it in person that morning - September 11, 2001.

I was in college at the time, and the American Express Championship was here in my hometown St. Louis. My church happens to be right across the street from Bellerive Country Club, where it was (and where the PGA Championship just was last fall). 

I was able to get signed up as a standard bearer for the tourney - I’d get to walk around with an assigned group with their names and scores for the tournament - and part of that was they gave us tickets to all the practice round days for free, so my buddy and I went that Tuesday morning to watch Tiger, who was one of the first players out that morning - probably by 7 or 7:30 am central time. 

So, I was out on the course following Tiger around as the news started to spread about the attacks in NYC and Washington. It was totally surreal as people started going into the sponser tents to watch the news live. 

I’m sure the players already on the course were made aware of what was going on, but they all continued their rounds and when Tiger came off of 18, of course there was a huge crowd yelling at him for autographs. I didn’t yell or shout at him at all, I was just standing there next to the walk way, and for whatever reason, he stopped right in front me, kind of looked me over and grabbed my ticket and signed it. I think I remember counting that he signed less than 10 autographs before running into the clubhouse - I’m sure he was anxious to see the news too, and he was hurrying pretty quick while he signed. 

Such a strange day. I can remember the entire day from start to finish.

They ended up cancelling the tournament the next day. 

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Permalink Reply by Benjamin Marik on March 21, 2019 at 10:56am

It's a wonderful piece you got then.  Sorry I was critical, but I'm that way most of the time. It is rare that he doesn't dot that i in his name.  In any case, I own a few Woods signatures as well and it's a real pleasure to own them.  He's a rarity, no doubt.  :)

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Permalink Reply by Joe W. on March 21, 2019 at 11:10am

What an incredible memory tied to this signature! Makes it all the more better.

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Permalink Reply by Andy Kimmel on March 21, 2019 at 11:22am

Yes, it’s one of a small handful of interesting stories/meetings that I’ve lucked into so far in my life - ha! and let me add that I didn’t mean my response to come off as an attack on anyone, nor was it a “gotcha” type reply in any sense, just sharing the story behind it after seeing opinions. I’m new to the site and I think it’s great!

also, I guess a bonus for anyone else looking or reading this is learning that there are legit variations of Tiger’s signature (no dot - which I would never have even known about) out there. 

As always, thanks to everyone for the feedback and giving their honest opinion. 

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Permalink Reply by BC on March 21, 2019 at 3:41pm

I'm just trying to figure out why you asked us for our opinion on the authenticity, but you got it in person and knew it was real.

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Permalink Reply by Andy Kimmel on March 21, 2019 at 3:48pm

I guess you could say that since I admittedly don’t know anything about authenticating autographs, and it’s not an exact science, and that I am new to the site, maybe I wanted to confirm my confidence in the experience and opinions of others here for the rare future purchases I might make and seek opinions on in these forums. I think it’s a sound idea to start with something I personally know to be authentic.

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