Posted September 8, 2013, 11:30 pm

Smith's green jacket sells for nearly $700,000

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Horton Smith’s green jacket sold for nearly $700,000 at auction.

The green jacket owned by Horton Smith – who won the inaugural Masters Tournament in 1934 and again in 1936 – was sold at auction Sunday morning for $682,229.45 with family provenance.

It was sold by Green Jacket Auctions, of Denville, N.J. The winning bidder was not identified.

Smith’s jacket, a 43 long, was presumed to be lost, but last month the auction house was contacted by one of Smith’s relatives. The green jacket had been hanging in a closet for decades.

Augusta National Golf Club first awarded the green jacket to Masters champions in 1949, beginning with Sam Snead. At the same time, the club retroactively awarded jackets to the nine former Masters champs that had won the tournament from 1934-1948, including Smith.

This was the first of those jackets, known as the “Original 10,” to be offered for public sale.

– From staff reports