Gallons of liquor aren’t all that’s been in the Claret Jug

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland – It’s just shy of 150 years old.

It’s been bruised, battered, chipped and dented. Hundreds if not thousands have placed their lips on the rim of its silver chalice. It’s traveled the world. Been up at all hours at the ready.

And bugs, corn, ice cream, orange juice and loads of liquor have been inside.

So, the question begs, would you take a drink out of the Claret Jug?

The next person to answer that will be Sunday’s victor in the 150^th playing of the Open Championship, the oldest tournament in golf. And the winner’s friends and family – and maybe even strangers – will have to make a decision.

Coming in at 21 inches tall, 5½ inches in diameter and weighing 5½ pounds, the Claret Jug – officially named Golf Champion Trophy – is one of the most coveted trophies in all of sports. Many of the names of the greatest players in the game are engraved at the bottom of the Claret Jug.

It is history.

And it just happens to be a perfect drinking mug.

Awarded to the winner for the first time in 1873 – that would have been Tom Kidd – possession of the Claret Jug has evolved, with the winner now getting to keep it for a year (it’s a full-scale replica, with the real McCoy on display in the clubhouse of the Royal and Ancient Club of St. Andrews).

For 100 years, it has been on vacations, posed for photos and delivered beverages.

“The first thing I drank out of it was John Smith’s Smooth Bitter,” 2007 and 2008 Open Champion Padraig Harrington said. “There have been a lot of other liquids in there. And ladybugs, too. My son wanted ladybirds (beetles) in there, so ladybirds ended up being in the Claret Jug.”

Phil Mickelson, the 2013 Open Champion, drank $40,000 wine out of it.

Stewart Cink put Guinness in for his first drink. The 2009 Open champion put a lot of other things in there, too. One Instagram post suggested OJ was filled to the rim. It was nearby when Cink was barbequing, too, and barbeque sauce eventually ended up in the jug.

Rory McIlroy, the 2014 winner, poured in some Jagermeister, a darkish, syrupy-licorice liquor. McIlroy also put in plenty of beer and wine.

And Ben Curtis isn’t quite sure what he all put in it.

“It just seemed like I was intoxicated for the first week,” Curtis said.

Three-time Open champion Tiger Woods said the Claret Jug never left his house but he did drink many different liquor out of it. Justin Leonard, 1999 winner, had his share of his mother’s tea from it.

As for…