By Susan Lulgjuraj | Beckett Sports Card Monthly Editor

The Masters is one of golf’s most popular championships. At the end of it all, one man gets to don the green jacket.

Most of the world’s top golfers are competing at Augusta National in Augusta, Ga., this week. Many of whom have had plenty of golf trading cards – and some who are just getting started.

Tiger Woods is the favorite to win the Masters as he aims for his fifth title in the event and 15th Major win. Here is a look at some of Woods’ cards and some of the other favorites to win the Masters.

Tiger Woods

Upper Deck recently announced the Tiger Woods Master Collection, good timing if he could return to form. Nike and Sports Illustrated both released cards of Woods in 1996, and companies haven’t stopped ever since.

Woods has 1,028 cards in the Beckett database (see a full checklist here), including 232 autographs, but just two cards are deemed Rookie Cards: 2001 SP Authentic autograph (high book value of $1,500) and 2001 Upper Deck.

Woods’ most expensive card in the Beckett database (for cards that have values) is his 2001 SP Authentic Gold #45 /100 for a high book value of $4,000.

Rory McIlroy

The 23-year-old has two Major wins, but still looking for a green jacket.

McIlroy’s has only recently started getting cards into products. He has cards from 2009 and 2011 from Sports Illustrated, but his first Upper Deck card is from 2012 SP Game Used, a short-printed card with a high book value of $250.

McIlroy’s Rookie Card will show up later this year from Upper Deck.

Phil Mickelson

As one of the top golfers in the world, it’s a little surprising Mickelson doesn’t appear on more cards. He has just 46 cards in the Beckett database with 16 autographs. Mickelson has four major wins, including the Masters three times.

His top cards include 2002 SP Authentic Limited autograph, 2002 SP Game Used Front 9 Fabric Autograph and 2002 SP Game Used auto jersey Rookie Card.

Justin Rose

The South African-born golfer is one of the favorites to win the Masters. He has no Major wins, but has finished in the top five in each of the four Majors.

Rose has 53 cards in the Beckett database. Among the best are 2011 Leaf Gold Prismatic Autographs and 2002 SP Authentic Autograph Rookie Card.

Bubba Watson

Watson earned his only Major win last year at Augusta. He was three strokes off the lead and managed to come back to force a couple of playoff holes.

Watson has 45 cards in the database with 19 autographs. He appeared in 2011 Upper Deck Goodwin Championsand in Upper Deck cards from the 2011 National Collectors Convention. His most sought after card is 2012 SP Authentic Limited Rookie Autographs numbered to 100.

Susan Lulgjuraj is an editor of Beckett Sports Card Monthly. You can email her here with questions, comments or ideas. Follow her on Twitter here. Follow Beckett Media on Facebook and Twitter.

By Susan Lulgjuraj | Beckett Sports Card Monthly Editor

Upper Deck plans to release the definitive set for one of the greatest golfers in history.

Later this year, UD will release the 2013 Upper Deck Tiger Woods Master Collection. These types of products contain a number of rare items, but also collectors will have to pay for the exclusive nature of the set.

Every Master Collection box contains 80 base cards numbered to just 200 commemorating each of Woods’ PGA Tour wins and honoring several collegiate milestones. Woods has won 77 PGA Tour titles, second all-time. He’s also won 14 Major Championships.

Each box includes three autographs, including an autographed memorabilia item as a box topper such a signed pin flag.

Some of the different types of autographs include hand-painted Masterpieces cards numbered to 10 and Historic Duos pairing Woods with a cut autograph numbered to two or fewer.

The Master Collection will come with one of 14 different Slambalaya cards honoring each of Woods’ 14 majors.

There will also be one Tiger Woods Championship Gear card in every box.

Upper Deck recently announced a new Michael Jordan University of North Carolina Master Collection. UD produced master sets about 10 years ago and seem to be in the swing of things again.

Susan Lulgjuraj is an editor of Beckett Sports Card Monthly. You can email her here with questions, comments or ideas. Follow her on Twitter here. Follow Beckett Media on Facebook and Twitter.

Join Beckett Sports Card Monthly‘s Bryan Hornbeck and Chris Olds as they rip into boxes of 2012 SP Game-used golf cards from Upper Deck in this latest edition of Box Busters.

What will they find inside? Watch and find out …

By Chris Olds | Beckett Sports Card Monthly Editor

We all know that the collecting world has changed immensely in the last 20 years with explosive growth and massive shrinkage for the mainstay types of sports — baseball, football, basketball and hockey — at varying times as card companies came and went and as labor strife took its toll on fans’ heartstrings.

But, at the same time, one could argue that the “other” sports out there have seen plenty of growth, too, as more and more sports — and some sort-of sports — have made their appearances on cards. You may not find them in every shop or every card aisle at retail every day, but they are out there and they have their passionate collecting bases that keep those products coming back year after year.

In the next issue of Beckett Sports Card Monthly, we’ll take a look at those sports that don’t normally get as much attention — racing, MMA, soccer, boxing, Olympic sports, wrestling, tennis, rodeo and more. Here are 20 questions that we hope you’ll take the time to answer to appear in this next issue.

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See the rest of the questions … after the jump. 

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By Susan Lulgjuraj | Beckett Sports Card Monthly Editor

Golf was lacking from the hobby for many years. However, Upper Deck is bringing it back in a big way.

The company released images of 2012 SP Game Used Golf featuring an autograph and a memorabilia card in every pack.

SP Game Used is set to come out in February with three five-card packs in every box. Each pack will also come with three base cards or Retro Rookies.

Some of the top hits include Inked Drivers, signatures on pseudo metal-driver club face; First Tee autographed Rookie Cards, and a number of memorabilia cards from golfers on the tour, including Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer.

And there is Rory McIlroy, one of the world’s best golfers, who will be featured heavily in upcoming golf products. His debut will be in SP Game Used.

However, McIlroy’s first card will be a tough pull, falling at a rate of 1 in 72 packs and marked #SP1.

His regular base cards will appear in 2013 Upper Deck golf products.

Look at the gallery below for images of 2012 SP Game Used Golf.

Susan Lulgjuraj is an editor of Beckett Sports Card Monthly. You can email her here with questions, comments or ideas. Follow her on Twitter here.

By Susan Lulgjuraj | Beckett Sports Card Monthly Editor

Retailers signing up early for the 2013 Industry Summit will get three exclusive cards from Upper Deck.

The company has made cards commemorating the launch of UD Infinite, which can only be found as part of a credit card reward system.

The Industry Summit cards will feature Tiger Woods, Lebron James and Robert Griffin III, and are numbered to just 150 each. Retailers can expect them in early 2013 as an advanced gift for signing up for the Summit.

“The Industry Summit has become one of the most important events of the year for hobby shop owners throughout the United States and Canada,” said Mike Phillips, Upper Deck’s vice president of sales. “We hope these special cards help provide some additional buzz and value for those attending the Summit.

“As many retailers know who have taken part in the event in the past, special offers like this are just part of the way that manufacturers like Upper Deck can help offset some of the costs for retailers to attend the show. And this is just the first of many special offers we will have for store owners.”

The Industry Summit is an annual event for card companies to talk to retailers. The companies release new information. It also gives retail owners opportunities to connect with other storeowners.

Susan Lulgjuraj is an editor of Beckett Sports Card Monthly. You can email her here with questions, comments or ideas. Follow her on Twitter here.

By Susan Lulgjuraj | Beckett Football Editor

Jeff Mullen grew up a sports fan and collector.

He knows first-hand what it’s like to get the rush from opening a pack of cards.

When the CEO of Dynamics Inc., put together the reward system for the innovative Dynamics ePlate Visa credit card, one of the highlights would be for those who loved cards.

“Right now for me to collect, I would have to go down to the sports card store,” Mullen said. “It’s becoming rare to find a physical sports card shop. As a result the joy of pack ripping is becoming less and less frequent.”

The credit card works with different reward systems and the consumer can decide right before purchase the reward they want to use based on the app on the card.

They can either use it to earn digital cards – and when a digital set is complete get an exclusive Upper Deck pack – or other rewards such as Dark Horse Comics, digital movie rentals or Toys for Tots.

With the UD system, collectors will get one digital card for every $10 spent.

“The ePlay system is about personalization,” Mullen said. “It’s allowing the credit card to give rewards that are meaningful to you.”

The digital cards consist of a 250-card set in three different sports (football, basketball, golf). Every time a person fills one of the base sets, collectors will get one pack of UD Infinite from the respective sport, which is exclusive to the program and can contain an autograph card.

The digital cards can be traded or sold to build sets more quickly. Mullen says the digital cards are not short-printed and are available at the same rate as the rest of the cards.

“I am always traveling. I am always flying. I’m never in a place where I can buy sports card packs,” Mullen said. “Now all I have to enjoy pack ripping is just buy lunch or pay at the pump.”

Collectors can learn more about the product at www.dynamicsinc.com/upperdeckcards

Click here to view the embedded video.

Susan Lulgjuraj is an editor of Beckett Football. You can email her here with questions, comments or ideas. Follow her on Twitter here.

By Susan Lulgjuraj | Beckett Sports Card Monthly Editor

Spending money could earn you more cards.

Upper Deck has launched a program with the Dynamics ePlate Visa credit card to earn digital cards, which in turn can lead to exclusive cards in hand.

When customers select the Upper Deck Experience, they will earn a digital trading card for every $10 spent using the Dynamics ePlate Visa card. The digital cards are instantly sent to your mobile phone.

When an entire digital set is collected, customers will get a UD Infinite foil pack with randomly inserted autographs of athletes such as LeBron James, Tiger Woods and Joe Namath. Collectors can trade or buy digital cards to complete their set quicker.

These cards are only available through the program.

“We’re excited to bring the joy of collecting trading cards to everyday purchases,” said Richard McWilliam, CEO Upper Deck. “The ePlate device allows us to offer virtual cards instantly to our collectors, and the ability to trade with friends to complete sets and earn exclusive, physical cards.”

Click here for more information about the card.

Susan Lulgjuraj is an editor of Beckett Sports Card Monthly. You can email her here with questions, comments or ideas. Follow her on Twitter here.

By Susan Lulgjuraj | Beckett Sports Card Monthly Editor

Collectors have had to wait about eight years for a new golf set from Upper Deck.

In that time, we’ve seen some great tournament runs and golfers endure rises and falls. This week marked the return of SP Authentic Golf from UD highlighting some of the most popular male and female golfers.

Golfers in the set include Tiger Woods, Mike Weir, Brittany Lincicome, Cristie Kerr and See Ri Pak.

But the most popular cards in SP Authentic might not even come from professional golfers. Upper Deck has included a Parade of Stars subset featuring celebrities who enjoy hitting off the tee.

Michael Jordan is one of the biggest names of this subset, which comes in autographed and non-autographed form. The autograph versions of this card is listed online for about $3,000 right now.
- 2012 SP Authentic Michael Jordan autos

Other non-pro golfers in the Parade of Stars subset include
- Hockey legend Bobby Orr
- Baseball Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt
- Soccer star Landon Donovan
- New York Giants legend Lawrence Taylor

The golf product doesn’t just feature all the best male athletes.

The women get good play in SP Authentic as well. LPGA stars Natalie Gulbis and Paula Creamer are some of the big signers. They are popular on the tour with many fans and girls who look up to them.

Even with their popularity among golf fans, their autographs are still reasonably priced.

Susan Lulgjuraj is the editor of Beckett Sports Card Monthly. You can email her here with questions, comments or ideas. Follow her on Twitter here.

By Chris Olds | Beckett Sports Card Monthly Editor

Upper Deck is headed to Baltimore for the National Sports Collectors Convention and it’s bringing along some cards for you.

Well, if you’re a VIP that is.

The company will produce a six-card show-exclusive set for the event set for Aug. 1-5 in Baltimore, and it showcases some of the biggest names in the company’s athlete spokesman stable.

The set will include soccer star Landon Donovan, golf star Tiger Woods, basketball stars Michael Jordan and LeBron James along with hockey stars Sidney Crosby and Wayne Gretzky.

Any collectors who buys a VIP ticket package will receive the set as part of their gift bag. The company also teased that it will be doing a wrapper redemption program — including autographed cards seeded into packs — at the show.

Chris Olds is the editor of Beckett Sports Card Monthly magazine. Have a comment, question or idea? Send an email to him at colds@beckett.com. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here.