The Claret Jug

Everything you need to know about arguably the most distinctive trophy in sport…

1872 The first year the Claret Jug was awarded. It replaced the original Championship Belt after Young Tom Morris won it outright by winning his third successive Open Championship in 1870.

£30 How much it cost the three clubs that hosted The Open at the time – Prestwick, the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers and The Royal and Ancient Golf Club – to have the trophy made by Mackay Cunningham & Company of Edinburgh. Each club paid £10.

Tom Morris Jnr The first name inscribed on the Jug. Young Tom won his fourth Open in 1872.

1873 The first year the Jug was presented to the winner, Tom Kidd. The 1872 event was hastily organised (it wasn’t even held in 1871) so the trophy wasn’t ready to be presented to Young Tom.

1928 The original Claret Jug has been on permanent display at the clubhouse of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews since 1928. In addition, the original Championship Belt is on display at the same site, having been donated by the Morris family in 1908.

Walter Hagen The American was the first man to be presented with the current Claret Jug when he won his third Open in 1928.

Three The number of replicas that exist for the public to see; one in the British Museum of Golf at St Andrews, and two for travelling exhibitions. The winner keeps the
real trophy for a year but must return it before the next year’s event. He receives a replica to keep.

28 The number of players presented with the original Claret Jug, including Harry Vardon six times, until it was replaced in 1928.

£5 The Claret Jug has twice appeared on commemorative £5 Scottish banknotes: in 2004, for the 250th Anniversary of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews; and a year later it was shown being held by Jack Nicklaus to mark his retirement.

2.45kg How much the solid silver Claret Jug weighs. This amount of silver is worth approximately £1,250 on today’s market.

Priceless There is no official valuation of the original Claret Jug but the R&A believe it to be priceless.

Engraving Gerry Harvey takes 15 to 20 minutes to engrave the new winner’s name on the original each year. He is, however, able to engrave the winner’s replica at the championship quicker than this.

10-20 The number of countries the current Claret Jug, or one of its official replicas, visits every year. Thousands of people are given the opportunity to see it, touch it and have their picture taken with the iconic trophy. It has a custommade carrier case to prevent it being damaged during transit.

Cloths The original is maintained with silver cloth polishing, not liquid polish. It is the responsibility of the Heritage Department of The R&A to look after it. It is kept securely in its display case and only polished once each year – when it is engraved. Too much polishing could damage the engraving.

512 x 150mm The dimensions of the Claret Jug, which is inscribed and officially called ‘The Golf Champion Trophy’.

Public viewing People are able to see the original Claret Jug on St Andrews Day (November 30) every year when The R&A Clubhouse is open to the public.