Bonhams‘ next golfing memorabilia sale will take place in Edinburgh on 13th July 2007, to coincide with the 2007 Open Championship which returns to the Carnoustie Golf Links for the first time since 1999. To celebrate this, the sale – held in Bonhams‘ Edinburgh office, 65 George Street, will include a section of Carnoustie-related items.
Highlight of this section is the gold 1937 Open Golf Championship winner’s medal, won by entrant number 47, Henry Cotton. Open Championship medals seldom come to auction, and this example is expected to fetch £25,000 – 30,000.
By 1934 when he won his first Open Championship, Henry Cotton was hailed as the best British professional golfer since ‘The Great Triumvirate‘ of J H Taylor, James Braid and Harry Vardon at the turn of the 20th century. 1937 was Cotton’s second win and the medals from these two victories were made into a bracelet worn by his wife ‘Toots‘. The R & A owns the 1934 medal complete with bracelet mount, and the 1937 medal to be sold is also offered with its bracelet links attached.
Other Carnoustie items include the first two in a new series of oil paintings by renowned Scottish artist Craig Campbell; “Cotton’s Approach to the 7th Hole at Carnoustie in the 1937 Open” and “Hogan pitching to the 6th green (Hogan’s alley) at Carnoustie in the 1953 Open” carry estimates of £600 – 800 each. In January 2007 Bonhams sold a painting by Craig Campbell of Tiger Woods for £12,500.
Also in the sale will be a very special collection of nine golf balls belonging to Leven Thistle Golf Club in Fife. The collection, which has never before been offered to the market, includes two hand-hammered gutty balls from the mid-nineteenth century (estimates £2,000 – 3,000 each), two no-name feather golf balls c.1840s (estimate £2,000 – 4,000 each) and a fine feather ball stamped ‘Allan 29‘, in unplayed condition, which is expected to fetch £6,000 – 9,000.
Lot 376 – a charity lot with all proceeds going to the Rotary Club of Dunbar – is one of two sets of 18th hole pin flags signed by the three 2006 Major winners, Phil Mickleson, Geoff Ogilvy and Tiger Woods. The other set was sold privately last year for £10,000, and the estimate for these four flags is £4,000 – 6,000.
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