Arnold Palmer’s Masters trophy sells for $444k

One lucky golf fan with a bunch of money to spend this holiday season is the winner of the auction of Arnold Palmer’s Masters trophy.

A few weeks back, the going price for the trophy was around $208,000. It ended up selling for $444,012.

According to Green Jacket Auctions, this is one of four Masters trophies belonging to Palmer and it originally was to be in a golf museum along the East Coast. The museum was not built, and the trophy has found its way to the auction block.

Before 1993, when Palmer won four Masters (1958, 1960, 1962, 1964), Augusta National only gave out the famed Green Jacket to the tournament’s winner. But starting in ‘93, they created the trophy that now accompanies the jacket — a 20-pound sterling silver replica of the course’s clubhouse. Winners prior to ‘93 were given trophies retroactively.

The auction house says that the other three trophies given to Palmer are still owned by Arnold Palmer Enterprises.

According to the bid website, the Palmer family released a statement about the sale of the trophy. They cite the fact the trophy was given for the purpose of being displayed in a museum and they are “extremely disappointed” the trophy was being auctioned. The family hopes “that the winning bidder in this auction will allow the trophy to be publicly displayed so that it can be appreciated by fans of Arnold Palmer for years to come.”