There are some very special trophies in golf, but none come any bigger (not in terms of prestige) than the Claret Jug, which is presented to the winner of The Open.
It’s a trophy that many of the game’s greatest names have held aloft, including Seve Ballesteros, Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer.
Today’s best players might be playing for millions of dollars, but for most competitors in the field, it’s being able to call yourself a Major champion that matters most and having your name etched onto this iconic piece of silverware.
How Well Do You Know The Claret Jug?
Tiger Woods with the Claret Jug after winning at Hoylake in 2006
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Willie Park Snr was the first Championship Golfer, but he received a Challenge Belt following his victory in 1860.
It was not until 1873 that the Claret Jug came into being. A year earlier, The Open’s three host venues at the time – Prestwick, The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers and The Royal and Ancient Golf Club – had agreed that the winner would receive a Gold Medal and a new trophy.
Each club contributed £10 towards its cost, although it wasn’t ready for when Young Tom Morris won in 1872. Instead, he was awarded a medal that was inscribed with the words: ‘The Golf Champion Trophy’ (this is the Claret Jug’s formal name).
The original Claret Jug was made by Mackay Cunningham & Company, an Edinburgh-based gold and silversmiths.
At 20-and-three-quarter inches tall with its base and five-and-a-half inches wide, there might be bigger trophies in the world of golf, but the Claret Jug, which is made of 92.5 per cent sterling silver, has become one of the most recognizable pieces of silverware in the world of sport.
The Jug weighs five-and-a-half pounds (approximately 2.5kgs) – so no one should find it difficult to hold high in the air, even after a stressful back nine on the links.
Scotland’s Tom Kidd, the first player to win on his debut since the inaugural Open, was the first to get his hands on the new prize when he claimed victory at St Andrews in 1873.
However, the first name engraved on the Claret Jug belongs to Young Tom, who won just as the decision to commission the trophy was being made.
Jack Nicklaus poses with a commemorative £5 note ahead of The Open in 2005
(Image credit: Getty…
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