26 Feb 2012

Golf collection to be sold at auction

8:08 am on 26 February 2012

A collection of golf memorabilia is expected to realise more than £2 million when it is offered for sale by auction at Christie's in London on 30 May.

The items were collected by a Bolivian tin baron, Jaime Ortiz-Patino, who acquired the Valderrama Golf Club in Spain in 1984.

The most valuable item is expected to be a painting of a golf course at North Berwick, Scotland, by John Lavery dating from the 1920s.

Also on offer will be a 19th century club used by Old Tom Morris and Young Tom Morris, a father-son duo who won eight Open Championships between them.

According to Christie's. Young Tom is the youngest player to have won a major, at 17 in 1868. He was 21 by the time he won the competition for the fourth time.

Also on offer is a wide range of "Featherie" golf balls which began to replace wooden balls in the early 1600s. They were made of cowhide and goose feathers.