Apart from being a family team event and the $1.085 million it offers in prize money, the PNC Championship is also known for its unique trophy. The PNC Championship trophy is called the Willie Park Trophy. Most golfing events feature a cup as a trophy, be it the Masters Trophy, the Claret Jug, or the Hero World Challenge Trophy. But the Willie Park Trophy is different because of its resemblance to modern-day belts given to boxing champions.

Design of the Willie Park Trophy

The Willie Park Trophy features a red leather belt adorned with sterling silver embellishments. Garrard, Crown Jewelers since 1843, has crafted the trophy for the PNC Championship since it started as the Father/Son Challenge in 1995.

The material used for the belt is red Morocco leather. As for the silver embellishments, there are three circles. The center circle features a golfer engraved with a golf club in his hands. On the two sides of the center circle are golf clubs, followed by another circular silver design.

The trophy and its design have remained the same since the PNC Championship started in 1995.

The story behind the PNC Championship’s Willie Park Trophy

Formerly known as the Father/Son Challenge, the PNC Championship organizers gave the Willie Park Trophy its name in honor of the golfer with the same name. The trophy was initially part of The Open Championship. Back then, the trophy was named the Challenge Belt, reflecting its design.

The Open Championship is the oldest golf championship, which started in 1860. Willie Park won the inaugural event held at Prestwick. He defeated the home club’s Old Tom Morris and took home the Challenge Belt. Since then, he won the event three more times in 1863, 1866, and 1875. Willie Park had become a profound name in the event. Of the 17 starts he had in The Open Championship, he finished 15 times in the top-10.

Notably, his son, Willie Park Jr., also won the event twice in 1887 and 1889. Willie Park had won the Challenge Belt for his first three The Open Championship wins, as it was replaced with the silver Claret Jug in 1872. The Claret Jug replaced the Challenge Belt because of a rule that made the latter unavailable.

Back in the days, the rule was that if someone won The Open Championship for three consecutive years, they would retain the Challenge Belt. Tom Morris Jr., son of Old Tom Morris, won the event in 1868, 1869, and 1870. Since he retained permanent possession of the Challenge Belt, the British Open was not held in 1871. The event resumed in 1872 with the silver Claret Jug as the new trophy.

Since Willie Park and his son both had played and won The Open Championship, the Challenge Belt was introduced as the Willie Park Trophy for the Father/Son Challenge.

Regular winners of the PNC Championship Trophy

Bernhard Langer holds the record as the most frequent winner of the PNC Championship. He has won the event six times in 2005, 2006, 2014, 2019, 2023, and 2024. The first two came with his elder son, Stefan, and the remaining four came with the younger one, Jason. Besides them, Langer has two daughters, Jackie and Christina Langer. Bernhard Langer teed it up with Jackie Langer in 2018 but didn’t win.

Raymond Floyd follows with five victories alongside his sons, Raymond Jr. and Robert. He won three times with Raymond Jr. and twice with Robert. Then comes Larry Nelson, securing three titles with sons Josh and Drew, while Davis Love III won twice with son Dru.

Notably, many golf legends, including Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Vijay Singh, John Daly, and Justin Thomas, have competed in the PNC Championship to get their hands on the Willie Park Trophy.