The Challenge Belt was awarded to the winner of

The Open Championship The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later t ...

in golf from 1860 until 1870. It was replaced by the Claret Jug for the

1872 Open Championship The 1872 Open Championship was the 12th Open Championship, held 13 September at Prestwick Golf Club in Prestwick, South Ayrshire, Scotland. Tom Morris, Jr. won the Championship for the fourth successive time, by three strokes from runner- ...

which is still being used to the present day. The winner of the first Open Championship, Willie Park Sr., in 1860 at the

Prestwick Golf Club Prestwick Golf Club is a golf course in Prestwick, South Ayrshire, Scotland. It is approximately southwest of Scotland's largest city, Glasgow. Prestwick is a classic links course, built on the rolling sandy land between the beach and the hin ...

received no prize money; instead, he was allowed to keep the Belt until the following Open Championship.

History

When the Prestwick Golf Club hosted the first Open Championship in 1860, the Earl of Eglinton suggested a special belt be commissioned for the event. The Belt is made from red

Moroccan leather Morocco leather (also known as Levant, the French Maroquin, or German Saffian from Safi, a Moroccan town famous for leather) is a vegetable-tanned leather known for its softness, pliability, and ability to take color. It has been widely used in ...

with a large silver buckle and featuring silver panels of golfing scenes with additional medallions denoting the winners and their scores. Members of the Prestwick Golf Club purchased it from Edinburgh silversmiths James & Walter Marshall for the sum of £25 (worth approximately £3,118 in 2021). There were specific rules to govern the management of the Belt: In the 1870 Open Championship, Young Tom Morris won his third consecutive title (1868-1870) and the Challenge Belt became his own property. That left the Open Championship without a belt or trophy for the next year's winner. As a result, there was no Open Championship in 1871, and a new trophy had to be found. Prestwick Golf Club agreed to organize the tournament jointly with The Royal and Ancient Golf Club (the R&A) in

St Andrews St Andrews ( la, S. Andrea(s); sco, Saunt Aundraes; gd, Cill Rìmhinn) is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's four ...

and the

Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers ''The Honourable'' ( British English) or ''The Honorable'' (American English; see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific style that is used as a prefix before the names or titles of certa ...

. Together, they shared the cost of £30 for the new Claret Jug, called the Golf Champion Trophy. Both the Challenge Belt and the Claret Jug are on display in the Royal & Ancient Clubhouse in St Andrews. The Royal and Ancient Golf Club took possession of the Challenge Belt after the death of

Old Tom Morris Thomas Mitchell Morris (16 June 1821 – 24 May 1908), otherwise known as Old Tom Morris, and The Grand Old Man of Golf, was a Scottish golfer. He was born in St Andrews, Fife, the "home of golf" and location of the St Andrews Links, and died ...

History

Winners of the Challenge Belt

Notes

References