The US Open Trophy is one of the most coveted awards in golf and is given to the winner of the United States Open Championship golf tournament. It is the second oldest trophy of all professional major golf championships which makes the prestige of earning this coveted trophy even more of an achievement. Below are some interesting facts about the US Open trophy.
The Name
Most of the trophies in popular sports tournaments are known by their names, such as the Stanley Cup for NHL and Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy for NBA. While many of the major golf championship trophies are also known by their names, such as the Claret Jug for British Open, and the Wanamaker Trophy for PGA Championship, the US Open Trophy was never named. It just stands for the tournament, the US Open Championship.
The Size and Shape
The US Open Trophy is made of sterling silver, featuring two handles on the sides and a solid base. It is 18 inches tall and six inches in diameter, and it weighs around 8.5 lbs. It has “United States Golf Association Open Championship” engraved on one side, with a laurel wreath engraved beneath that surrounds a scene depicting four golfers. There is a winged, female figure on top of the trophy cup’s lid representing Victoria the Goddess of Victory.
The current US Open trophy dates back to the year 1947 where it was first awarded to Lew Worsham by the United States Golf Association. It is a replica of the original US Open trophy, which was designed by the Gorham Company in the year 1895, for the first-ever US Open golf championship. The original US Open trophy was destroyed in a fire accident in 1946.
The Winners
The names of US Open Golf Championship winners are engraved around the base of the trophy. The name of the winner is usually engraved right after the end of the tournament. The new champion can also watch the engraving process and specify how their name should be engraved on the trophy. If there was no longer any room for engraving the name of the new winner on the trophy’s base, it would be replaced by another sterling silver base.
The winner of the US Open tournament is allowed to take the personalized trophy home and display it as part of their trophies and awards collection for one year. They are then required to return the championship trophy to the USGA before the start of the next year’s US Open golf tournament. Aside from the trophy the winner also gets the Jack Nicklaus Gold Medal which they get to keep for life.
