Jug
Above: Tom Morris Below: Bobby Jones in 1930
The Golf Champion Trophy The Golf Champion Trophy as it is correctly named is older than even the FA Cup and the Ashes Urn having first been played for in 1872 - and even then it was the second trophy to be presented to the winner of The Open championship. The first trophy was a splendid red
belt made of Rich Moroccan leather embellished with a silver buckle and emblems. But when Young Tom Morris, son of Old Tom, won the championship for the third time in a row in 1870 he was presented with the belt to be kept as his of right. It now has a permanent home in The R&A Clubhouse at St Andrews. The photograph of Young Tom wearing the belt is an iconic picture in the history of the game. He was probably only 20 years of age when the picture was taken and stands proudly in a fine jacket and waist coat. Young Tom was in all probability the first truly great golfer. The Prestwick Club staged the first
11 Open Championships but after young Tom’s hat trick there was no tournament in 1871 - probably because there was no trophy to play for. Lack of lolly could also have been a possible reason so the host club Prestwick spoke to their friends in the east and, together with the Royal and Ancient Golf club of St Andrews (R&A) and The Honourable company of Edinburgh Golfers, raised funds to commission the iconic trophy still played for today. And what a splendid trophy it is too. It was made by an Edinburgh Silver Smith, Mackay Cunningham & Co. to a marvelous brief from the three clubs – that the trophy should take the shape of a vessel that holds the finest of French
wines: a claret jug. In the light of this joint initiative
the Championship was played over the three Clubs’ links in successive years. It recommenced at Prestwick in 1872 and Young Tom emerged triumphant yet again and was a highly appropriate recipient of the new trophy. The first Open at St Andrews was in 1873 and the following year the competition was played at Musselburgh, the home of the Honourable Company until 1891. The Scottish professional monopolised
the event for the first thirty years until an Englishman and, what is more, an Amateur won the event at Prestwick in
Then came Bobby Jones who eclipsed all rivals with his third win at Hoylake in 1930
1890. His name was Johnny Ball of The Royal Liverpool Golf Club at Hoylake. Within two years another member of the same club, Harold H. Hilton, won at Muirfield which was by now the new home of the Honourable Company. This was also the first time the Championship was played over seventy two holes. The game was now taking a hold
outside of Scotland and to illustrate the challenge two English professionals, J. H. Taylor and Harry Vardon, rose to prominence. The Scotsman James Braid was their main rival and between them they dominated the tournament for the next twenty years up, right up to the First World War. After the conflict came the emergence
of great American golfers. Each year the Champion golfer took the trophy home and returned it in time for the next playing of the event. But with all
the implications of constant travel and packing and unpacking around the world, the original trophy was retired in 1927 due to its fragility. It is a pleasing coincidence that this was when Bobby Jones won at St Andrews. The trophy is now on permanent display there and was replaced by a replica. Before the American greats the only
time the trophy had left these shores was to make the short hop to Jersey in the Channel Islands when Harry Vardon won on six occasions and Ted Ray in 1914 took it over. I am not sure what happened to the Trophy during the war – perhaps it stayed on Jersey. In 1921, came Jock Hutchison. Though
born in St Andrews he had emigrated to America as a young man. Walter Hagen soon followed and won the event four times including the 1924 Open at Hoylake. Then came Bobby Jones who
ROYAL LIVERPOOL GOLF CLUB 2 014 MAGAZINE
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