After victory, ball can bounce almost anywhere
What happens to the golf balls that Masters Tournament champions use to win at Augusta National Golf Club, and will today's winner keep his?
Some champions have the balls displayed in their homes.
Others know where they are but keep them stored away.
After the 1992 Masters, Fred Couples gave his away.
"I don't know to who, that's for sure," Couples said.
Tiger Woods doesn't know where the winning ball from the 2005 Masters went, but he has a good idea.
After Woods made a 15-foot birdie putt for the victory on the first playoff hole, his caddie, Steve Williams, threw the ball into the gallery.
"Cool," Woods said at the time, concerning the lucky fan who ended up with the ball. "Probably going to be on eBay."
The ball never made its way to the online auction. Al Cheek, of Winston-Salem, N.C., caught it and still has it.
Mike Weir knows exactly where the ball he used to beat Len Mattiace in a 2003 playoff is.
"I have it in a little case at home," Weir said. "I'm trying to collect balls from every tournament I've won. I have that one (the Masters ball), and it's in a special little spot."
Nick Faldo, who has three Masters titles and three British Open victories, has the balls, and much more, from his major championship victories.
"I've kept all my stuff, my balls, shoes, clubs, clothes that I won the majors," Faldo said. "They're going to be displayed one day. We've been moving houses, so they're kind of boxed up at the moment.
"I like the personal things, whether it's the sweater or the shoes. I like the bits of your personal effects that were there with you on the day, not so much the trophy at the end of the day."
Mark O'Meara, the 1998 Masters champion, kept his ball and gave it to his wife to display.
"It's at home in a case," he said. "She put a whole collage of things together, with the flag and maybe some memorabilia from Augusta. I'm pretty sure it's sitting in that case."
1987 Masters champ Larry Mize gave his wife, Bonnie, the ball from his victory, along with his other three PGA Tour wins.
Mize's Masters ball is one of the more famous in tournament history. He used it to hole out a 140-foot chip for birdie to beat Greg Norman on No. 11, the second hole of sudden death.
"Bonnie has them," Mize said. "They're somewhere in a drawer. We could find them, but it might take a minute."
Mize said he's never thought about showing off the Masters ball.
"I'm not much on displays," he said. "I doubt if we'll ever display it. It's just a keepsake. We'll probably hand it down to our children."
Sometimes, it's not just the ball a champion won with that he keeps. Charles Coody, the 1971 champion who concluded his Masters career Friday, is saving that day's ball. It will join his 1971 ball in a display in his office.
"I put (the 1971 ball) in my pocket, just like I put this one in my pocket," Coody said as he showed off the ball he used to shoot 74 on Friday. "That's my last ball.
"I'm not a memorabilia buff, but if something is very, very significant like this, I want to keep it."
Reach David Westin at (706) 724-0851 or david.westin@augustachronicle.com.
