2022 January Memorabilia Auction - Closing Date 02/06/2022
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 2/6/2022
Ed Fiori Signed Personal Used Golf Ball From 1996 Quad City Win Over Tiger - Bob Burns Collection
Winning caddy Robert 'Bullet Bob' Burns was presented this tournament-used ball after the 1996 Quad City Classic when his golfer Ed Fiori denied Tiger Woods his first PGA Tour win. The Titleist 2 ball is marked with a red dot and signed by tournament champion Fiori in appreciation of Burns' hard work. Ed Fiori was at a point in his golfing career that was 14-years removed from his last PGA Tour win and had missed the cut in over half (10) of his last 18 starts. In fact Fiori was asking himself if it was time for his second career to begin, likely a salesman of some sort for the affable 43-year-old. The Sunday showdown between Fiori and the newest golfing sensation Tiger Woods, who was making only his third professional start after a decorated amateur career, did not end as most thought it would. Tiger Woods had the 54-hole lead by one stroke over Fiori. Ed would card a bogey at the first and find himself three back after one. Tiger Woods faltered with a quadruple bogey on hole no. 4 and Fiori realized after looking at the standard bearer that he was now a shot ahead of the man that the gallery came to see. Fiori would take Tiger Woods' first professional win away from him that day and reinvigorate his own PGA Tour, along with gaining a new nickname that still gets tossed around 25 years later - 'The Tiger Slayer.' A signed letter of provenance from Robert 'Bullet Bob' Burns comes with this lot.
~The Bob "Bullet" Burns Collection~
Carrying the bag is hard work, especially if it's done to pay the bills. Loopers with a sense of humor find it helpful to get through those long, hot grind days. Experienced PGA Tour caddie Bob " Bullet" Burns had it. A quick, but telling story from a fellow caddie to ESPN went like this: "Fulton (Allem) was having a rough go. He was saying how upset he was and how pissed he was. Finally, he angrily said, "Bullet, give me something to break!" Bullet replied, "How about par?"" Fultem Allen, Steve Elkington, Ed Fiori and Brett Ogle were some of the stitched pro names on the main pocket of bags that he toted. Burns was on the bag for numerous wins, including the fabled 1996 Quad Cities Open that Burns was the Robinhood to Ed Fiori's Batman to earn the moniker 'Tiger Slayer' and deny rookie Woods his first professional win. Indicative of select items in Burns' collection, "Bullet" was inside the ropes to a number of early both amateur and pro Tiger PGA tournaments in the mid 1990's. To circle back, the right attitude is important. "It’s hard to leave once you get that grass under your feet," Bob "Bullet" Burns says about caddying. When it comes to the game of golf - we agree.
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