Gary Player is taking the matter to court.
After reports suggested a replica Claret Jug used by Player when he won at Royal Lytham & St. Annes in 1974 had sold for nearly half a million dollars, the nine-time major champion put the matter to rest in a statement posted to his Twitter account. Social media.
“Several articles have been written about the recent sale of a replica Claret Jug that I won at the 1974 British Open and which was recently auctioned and I feel the need to correct some inaccuracies contained in those articles,” the player posted on X.
“Neither the 1974 Masters Trophy nor the 1974 Open Trophy were sold by me or my company. These trophies were presented to me for my exclusive use and enjoyment as the winner of their respective major championships. The individual entrusted with the safekeeping of these items on my behalf and tasked with using them to celebrate my golfing achievements has done the opposite by selling them without my consent or wishes. My legal team is taking appropriate steps to resolve this unlawful situation.”
A replica Claret Jug sold on July 29 for $481,068. Golf Week11 days ago, Golden Age Golf Auction The trophy was unveiled and bidding began at $5,000, after which 39 bids were made but no one was able to surpass that amount, nearly $500,000.
Golden Age Auctions says this is the only official large-scale Claret Jug it has ever offered for auction. The company has previously auctioned seven Masters Tournament trophies but has never offered the Claret Jug, which it describes as “arguably the Holy Grail of golf collecting.”
The company also said the Claret Jug is made to 90 percent of the scale of the original, which is presented annually to golf’s best champion of the year. The winner of The Open Championship will be able to keep the Claret Jug for 12 months, before having to return it to The R&A the following year. The R&A will provide the winner with a replica Claret Jug, which is slightly smaller than the original.
But the player never wanted his beloved replica to leave his hands, which is why “The Black Knight” plans to sue and hopefully, for him, return the Claret Jug – the trophy he won after his incredible victory in the 1974 race – to its rightful owner.
Jack Mirko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation Playing Through. Follow For more golf articles, follow us on Twitter Jack Mirko In the same way.
