Over the last few months, one of the most valuable athletes in sports has made a comeback unlike any time needed in his career. Since his public humiliation back a few years ago, Tiger Woods has been on a downward slide that culminated in his falling from the top of the world rankings for the first time in a decade. It has taken years for him to recover from injuries and start playing well again, but it looks like it is finally coming full circle.

With three tour wins this year already, Woods has been favored to be a top contender in the last few majors. Although he has come up short, collectors have not given up on him the way many expected. He is still the most valuable golf autograph there is, and he frequently outsells just about everyone not named Jordan in the other sports.

Check out some of the recent ending prices:

2001 SP Authentic Golf Tiger Woods RC Auto /900

2001 Upper Deck Gallery Tiger Woods Auto /50

2003 Upper Deck Tiger Woods Shirt Auto

Nothing can beat the holy grail of Woods’ autographed cards, however:

2008 Tiger Woods Exquisite Auto Shirt – 10/10

Tiger is young enough to still have an opportunity to catch Jack Nicklaus’ all time record for major wins, that is a fact. If he continues to get back to the top of the leaderboard the way he has been in the last few months, it may happen sooner rather than later. Now that he is injury free and distraction free for the first time since his embarassing fall from grace, his cards’ rebound should not be any surprise.

Upper Deck still owns the exclusive rights for producing Tiger Woods autographs, and I dont see that changing anytime soon. The good thing is that they have created some awesome examples in many products that collectors still chase like they are rare diamonds. Golf has never been a sport that many consider to be one worth collecting cards from, but Tiger has made that statement false.

Now that Leaf has gotten into producing cards of golfers as well, I can only hope that they will eventually have the opportunity to create some autographs of Woods. Without Tiger, golf is relatively a forgotten sport in the US, and as long as Tiger plays well, it will continue to be relevant.

The autographs may be ridiculously expensive, but there will never be another athlete like Tiger ever again. He is the one of a kind person that collectors dream about.