The best trophies in golf have some intriguing histories

The Best Trophies In Golf 

The best trophies in golf are, in our eyes anyway, also the most important. But they are also all striking items in themselves. We delve into the history of these items and you will swiftly discover some unusual feature. For example, one of the trophies had to be replaced after it had been lost by the winner. The Claret Jug is itself a replacement for another type of trophy altogether. Replicas of trophies are typically awarded to winners, but the organisers of which Major required some of its winners to pay for their replica trophy? Who is that chap on top of the Ryder Cup and why is he there? Why is the Walker Cup not actually the Walker Cup?

The Claret Jug

One of the best trophies in golf is undoubtedly the Claret Jug. However the Claret Jug was not the original trophy for winning The Open Championship. When the first Open was held in 1960, the winner was presented with the Challenge Belt, which was made of rich Moroccan leather with a silver buckle. When, in 1870, Young Tom Morris won the Challenge Belt for the third consecutive year, he got to keep it. Problems with a lack of a trophy meant there was no competition in 1871, but by 1872 it had been decided to buy a new trophy.