A peaceful (and commercial) transfer
Harman returns the Claret Jug; Open keeps pace in arms race of prize funds; Stray Shots
Brian Harman returns Claret Jug to R&A’s Martin Slumbers (Oisin Keniry/R&A via Getty Images)
On Monday of Open Championship week, the reigning champion golfer of the year — in a longtime tradition — returns the Claret Jug to the R&A, a ceremony that has taken on more of a commercial aspect than is probably appropriate.
It simpler times, it was done in front of the clubhouse of the Open, in this case at Royal Troon, site of this week’s tournament. But now there is a special place for the handoff, with a mini rehearsal and a car sponsor also part of the scene. It’s all a bit much, really, but in the end it is part of what the reigning champion, Brian Harman, does to kick off the week.
“I practiced getting out of the car one time,” Harman said after the delivery.
The rest, apparently, went off without incident.
“It’s been a great year,” Harman said. “Yeah, a little sad to give it back, but I’ll remember everywhere it’s been forever. I’m happy to give it back, happy to be here. Ready to get going. In my opinion, it’s the coolest trophy in all of sports. So I think it’s deserving of all of the pageantry that is involved with it.”
Brian Harman reflects on “great year” as its champion golfer (Oisin Keniry/R&A via Getty Images)
Harman more or less cruised to victory last year at Hoylake, winning by six shots over Jason Day, Jon Rahm, Sepp Straka and Tom Kim.
The win catapulted him up the rankings and put him in a new position in the game as a major champion who made his first U.S. Ryder Cup team. It was just his third PGA Tour win and his first since 2017.