Harry Vardon made $200 after winning the 1900 U.S. Open. And just this week, a golf ball he played to win at Chicago Golf Club was sold for $194,259.20. Yes, there’s inflation and 125 years to account for, but that’s quite the monetary leap for a Spalding “Vardon” Flyer.
Starting with a minimum bid of $15,000, the U.S. Open-winning ball received 21 bids, culminating in a final six-figure price point at auction’s end at 10 p.m. on Sunday. The piece of memorabilia was part of Vardon’s only U.S. Open title, in which he won by two strokes. It also comes with a vintage mistake, as spelled out by The Golf Auction, the site that hosted the sale.
“Engraved on the ball's silver presentation plate is: American Championship - Wheaton 1900 - Won by H. Vardon - Score 323. The '2' in the winning cumulative score of 323 was meant to be engraved as a '1.’ Errors such as this one, along with misspellings of names, were common at that time and often the work of either a rushed individual or amateur engraver working on the award shortly after the event's finish.”
The ball has changed hands over the years, starting with Vardon (of course), making its way to Harpenden Common Golf Club pro Bob Peters and eventually to PGA Tour winner and five-time Ryder Cup player Ken Brown. There’s a signed letter of provenance from Brown, which accompanies the ball to ensure its authenticity.
A piece of major history, the Vardon Flyer had a short shelf life with the Goodrich Rubber Company coming up with its own newfangled design, making the Spalding ball obsolete. Vardon frequently claimed that it “flew longer and farther than its contemporaries,” and it certainly worked out for the World Golf Hall of Famer as he won seven majors over the years.
The Vardon Flyer was the stand-out of the June 2025 auction catalog, which also included a 1934 Masters program, a 1987 Muirfield Village Ryder Cup crystal trophy, a signed Tiger Woods Nike golf ball and a few pieces of memorabilia from Rory McIlroy's 2025 Masters victory.
The Golf Auction is an auction house of some controversy as of late, as it was implicated in the private sales of stolen Masters collectibles, including green jackets, that led to the imprisonment of a former Augusta National Warehouse worker. The company has been dealing in prestigious golf goods for years now, from a $470,000 Masters badge to Babe Zaharias' U.S. Women's Open-winning clubs to Hale Irwin’s gold medals. The site makes sure to note that “ALL SALES ARE FINAL.”
