The short answer
The Open originally awarded a Challenge Belt. Young Tom Morris won it outright after three consecutive victories, leaving the 1871 championship without a trophy. Prestwick, the R&A and the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers then funded a silver claret jug. The object was hallmarked in 1873; Tom Kidd first received it, while 1872 winner Young Tom Morris was the first name engraved. Since 1928 champions have received a replica because the R&A retains the original.
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The first prize was a belt
The Open began in 1860 with a red leather Challenge Belt rather than a cup. Its rules allowed a player who won three consecutive championships to keep the belt.
Young Tom Morris did exactly that from 1868 to 1870. The victory removed the prize from circulation and helped leave no championship at all in 1871.
Three clubs funded the replacement
Prestwick Golf Club, the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews and the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers agreed to share responsibility for The Open. Each contributed £10 toward a new silver trophy.
They chose a claret jug rather than another belt. Its formal name is the Golf Champion Trophy, but its domestic vessel shape supplied the name everyone uses.
The date puzzle has a precise answer
Mackay Cunningham & Company of Edinburgh made the trophy, which was hallmarked in 1873. Tom Kidd, winner at St Andrews that year, was the first champion physically presented with it.
Young Tom Morris’s name was engraved first because he had won the restored 1872 championship. So the first engraved champion and the first recipient are different people—a distinction lost in short trophy lists.
The original stopped travelling in 1927
The R&A took responsibility for The Open in 1920. After Bobby Jones won at St Andrews in 1927, its Championship Committee decided the original should no longer be handed to each champion.
From 1928, winners received a replica. Walter Hagen was the first under that arrangement, although he had already held the original after earlier victories.
It records a championship, not golf itself
The jug belongs to The Open, not to the general Rules of Golf or every form of golf competition. It names the Champion Golfer of the Year.
That is why a trophy history must follow institutional custody. The Masters green jacket serves a different tournament and uses a wearable symbol rather than a travelling cup.
The replica policy protects continuity
Modern champions can display an authorised replica, while the historic original remains protected. The distinction is similar to the Champions League trophy and Wimbledon’s cups.
The policy does not make the ceremony symbolic or false. It separates the right to be champion from permanent ownership of one irreplaceable nineteenth-century object.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Claret Jug's proper name?
Its formal name is the Golf Champion Trophy.
Why was the Claret Jug created?
Young Tom Morris won the previous Challenge Belt outright, so the clubs organising The Open needed a new prize.
Who was the first winner named on it?
Young Tom Morris, the 1872 champion, was the first name engraved.
Who first received the physical jug?
Tom Kidd received it after winning The Open in 1873.
Why do the 1872 and 1873 dates both matter?
The jug was hallmarked in 1873, but it retrospectively recorded Morris as the 1872 winner.
Do Open champions keep the original?
No. Since 1928 the champion has received a replica while the R&A retains the original.