The Golf Champion Trophy, commonly known as the Claret Jug, is one of sports’ oldest and most unique prizes.
One of sports' oldest and most unique prizes is back up for grabs.
Top golfers around the world will convene at Royal Troon for the 2024 British Open. On top of an opportunity to become a major champion, players will also be battling for a chance to lift the claret jug.
The "trophy" has more than 150 years of history, and champions continue to find new ways to celebrate with the tournament prize.
Here is everything to know about the claret jug:
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What is the claret jug?
The claret jug is a prize awarded to the winner of the Open Championship each year.
What is the claret jug's real name?
The claret jug's actual name is the Golf Champion Trophy, but the nickname has taken hold as the more common name of the two.
What is claret?
Claret is a dry red wine from the Bordeaux region of France, and the claret jug design was originally created to serve the wine.
How tall is the claret jug?
The claret jug is 20.75 inches tall with its base.
It is 5.5 inches in diameter at its widest, and the base is 7.25 inches in diameter.
How much does the claret jug weigh?
The claret jug weights around 5.5 pounds.
What is the claret jug made out of?
The claret jug is 92.5% sterling silver.
Who makes the claret jug?
Mackay Cunningham & Company of Edinburgh is in charge of making the claret jug.
When was the claret jug first handed out at the British Open?
Tom Kidd was the first British Open winner to be awarded the claret jug when he won the event at St Andrews in 1873. However, his name was not the first one to appear on the trophy.
Instead, Young Tom Morris got that distinction. The claret jug had been commissioned before Morris won his fourth British Open in 1872, but it was not ready by the time he won the event, so he only got to take home a gold medal, which was engraved with the words "Golf Championship Trophy."
Prior to the claret jug, Open Championship winners were awarded the Challenge Belt. Tournament rules said the winner had to leave the belt with the club "until it becomes the property of the winner by being won three times in succession." That happened in 1870 when Morris won his third straight Open Championship.
From then on, British Open winners received a gold medal and the claret jug.
Do British Open winners get to take home the claret jug?
Twenty-eight different players got to hoist the original claret jug until the tournament began handing out the Champions' replica in 1928.
British Open winners get to keep the Champions' replica for a year before returning it to the Royal and Ancient Golf Club ahead of the next edition of the tournament. The return of the trophy has become a publicized ceremony.
As a consolation, British Open winners receive a full-size replica of the trophy that they can keep and can order up to three smaller replicas.
As for the original claret jug, it has been on display at St Andrews since 1928.
Who engraves the claret jug?
Garry Harvey, a participant in the 1979 British Open, is the official engraver of the claret jug. He took the responsibility from his father, Alex.
Golfers had been in charge of their own engraving until 1967 champion Robert De Vicenzo forgot to get it done. The R&A took over responsibility from that point on.
Can you drink out of the claret jug?
British Open champions have drank plenty out of the claret jug -- and not just the wine.
Cameron Smith, the 2022 winner, told Golf Digest that the claret jug can hold two beers, and that was just the start.
"Everything you can think of," he said when asked what kind of drinks he's consumed out of the claret jug. "I’ve drank espresso from it some mornings and espresso martinis some nights."
