From Getting Burnt In A Clubhouse To Getting Impounded in China: 8 Mind-Boggling Facts About The US Open Men’s Trophy

Published 06/13/2023, 12:40 PM EDT

After the iconic green jacket at Augusta during the Masters and the historic Wanamaker trophy at the PGA Championship, the next most desirable trophy in the golf fraternity is the US Open trophy. Emerging victorious at the highly coveted US Open means that the golfer has won the second-oldest major and one of the most difficult major championships.

Let us get to know some of the interesting historical facts about the trophy just before the US Open begins.

Fun facts about the US Open trophy

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Name, size, and engravings of the US Open Trophy

Just like trophies at the PGA Championship and the Open have widely popular names such as the Wanamaker Trophy and the Claret Jug, the US Open Trophy is just as popular by its own name.

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The US Open trophy is 18 inches tall and 6 inches in diameter. The trophy weighs approximately 8.5 pounds, and is made of sterling silver. It has a figurine of Victoria on the top with wings that display victory.

On one side of the trophy, the “United States Golf Association Open Championship” is engraved, and below that is an engraving of the laurel wreath showing four golfers. The names of the winners are engraved in block type around the base. The new winner’s name is engraved immediately after the conclusion of the tournament, and that new champion even gets to witness the engraving live. Just in case the trophy does not have any space left, a new base is added below the old one.

How old is the US Open Trophy?

The present US Open trophy dates back to 1947 and is 76 years old. The current trophy is an exact replica of the first US Open trophy that was presented by the USGA in 1895. It was first created by the Gorham Company.

The first US trophy was destroyed in a fire

The winner of the 1946 U.S. Open, Lloyd Mangrum, took the original trophy home after he emerged victorious. He wanted to display the trophy in the clubhouse at Tam O’Shanter, his home course near Chicago. To everybody’s surprise, the clubhouse then caught fire and went up in flames. With the clubhouse, it burned the US Open trophy as well.

Money in exchange for a trophy

In 1898, just three years after the major championship was inaugurated, Fred Herd became the US Open champion. He was quite infamous for his heavy drinking, and because of this, the USGA was worried that he might lose the trophy if he took it home. They thought that Herd might pawn the trophy for drinking money. As a result, the USGA asked him to put down a cash deposit in exchange for the trophy.

The US Open trophy was once impounded by Chinese customs officials

Rory McIlroy won the US Open in 2011, and he wanted to show off his trophy at every event that season. He was in China for a tournament, and when the trophy was shipped to China, it was held by Chinese customs officials.

At that point, it seemed really difficult for the USGA to get the trophy back. But with the diligent efforts of the USGA and McIlroy’s management team, the trophy was retrieved eventually.

Do US Open winners take the trophy home with them?

Just like all the USGA trophies, the winner gets to take the US Trophy home with him for a year and has to return it before the next year’s tournament to the USGA.

Can the winner keep the original trophy?

No, the winner of the US Open cannot keep the original US Open trophy, but if they want to own one forever, they can get a replica of the original one. The replica will be just 10% smaller than the original trophy. The golfers can get it made by the same silversmith company used by the USGA.

What can a golfer keep permanently after winning the US Open if not the trophy?

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The winner of the US Open gets to keep a Jack Nicklaus golf medal permanently with them if they win. When the tradition started, the medal was seen as an individual souvenir, and the trophy was seen as a prize for the golfer’s home course.

Now known as the Jack Nicklaus Medal, it was nameless until 2012. ‘The Golden Bear’s’ photo is engraved on the medal as a way to honor him for being the golfer with the most US Open wins to his name, along with Ben Hogan, Bobby Jones, and Willie Anderson.

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The 2023 US Open is taking place at a historic venue, The Los Angeles Country Club, which is indeed a spectacular course. What are your thoughts about the interesting facts about the US Open trophy? Let us know in the comments below.

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Written by:

Riya Singhal is a promising golf writer at EssentiallySports. She was recently recruited in the latest round of ‘ES Draft’ as one of the young writers with a strong passion for golf writing. Despite being in her early days, Riya has already showcased exceptional talent in her coverage of the sport, with her article on Brooks Koepka's kind gesture towards a young fan after his Masters loss quickly rising to the top of the charts.

Edited by:

Manaal Siddiqui

From Getting Burnt In A Clubhouse To Getting Impounded in China: 8 Mind-Boggling Facts About The US Open Men’s Trophy

Fun facts about the US Open trophy

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