In 2022, federal authorities charged former warehouse coordinator Richard Brendan Globensky with transporting and transferring millions of dollars’ worth of stolen merchandise and memorabilia from Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia to Tampa, Florida. According to the Chicago Tribune, Globensky had access to the stolen items as he supervised the Masters merchandise sold each year at Augusta National.
Among the items stolen over a 13-year period was Arnold Palmer’s green jacket. Palmer, a four-time Masters champion, earned the coveted jacket during his 1958 victory at Augusta National. Although federal investigators did not mention Palmer’s Green Jacket specifically, nor did Augusta National Golf Club officials acknowledge its absence, reports by cllct’s Darren Rovell revealed that it was among the items stolen.
In a 2022 FBI operation, Palmer’s missing jacket was recovered during a private sale arranged by a member of Augusta National who knew the jacket was missing. The collector, known for finding rare items, verified the jacket’s authenticity before arranging a sale for $3.6 million. However, upon leaving the seller’s house with the jacket, the buyer and collector were confronted by FBI agents who seized the jacket and questioned the sellers.
After Palmer passed away in 2016 at the age of 87, Augusta National paid tribute to him by placing his jacket on a chair at the course during The Masters tournament. Palmer had multiple Green Jackets and it is believed that one of them (the one that was stolen) was not one of his actual winner’s jackets.
