2001 SP Authentic Gold Tiger Woods ROOKIE AUTO /100 #45 PSA 10 GEM MINT

Few athletes have ever captivated audiences in the way Tiger Woods did in the early 2000s, and his domination of the PGA Tour led to Upper Deck’s inaugural golf releases in 2001—giving collectors the first mainstream professional golf cards since the early 1990s. Six golfers, including Woods, signed cards for the “Authentic Stars” portion of the 2001 SP Authentic release, leaving him with two classic rookie autos that have withstood the test of time. Both the hard-signed /900 base offering and this /100 Gold parallel increased in popularity as Woods, once described by rival Hale Irwin as a “huge monster,” continued to reign over the PGA Tour. Non-autographed Gold cards have a production run /500, but the six autographs earned an extra level of scarcity, making them some of the most coveted cards from Upper Deck’s earliest PGA Tour releases. That became especially true for Woods. With clutch putts and electrifying fist pumps, Tiger transcended the sport and soared into international superstardom. So, when Upper Deck brought its familiar brand names into the golf industry, the chase was on to uncover Tiger’s mainstream rookie cards. This example of his iconic rookie auto received the coveted PSA 10 designation, ensuring there will be plenty of bidders prowling around this month's auction in hopes of landing this Tiger treasure. The certification number on this card has been checked against the third-party grader's online database and is active as of 02/26/2025.