What Is That In Your Hand?

Pardon us as we move away from Ryder Cup memories and start reminiscing about Sergio victoriously holding his cock, rooster high in the air this time last year.

Trophies are always unique to events, and it got us thinking just how absurd some of them are.

Not every event can be a green jacket and silver replica of an antebellum clubhouse. The listing of golf’s best trophies is a pretty short list, but comprehensive:

There’s even a showing of every trophy awarded during the 2019-20 golf season and the most recently played 2020-21 season. As expected, lots of cups, crystal vases, the usual pedantic collection of expected wares, and then there is the off the wall stuff that gives pure oxygen and jet fuel to newsletters like ours (sadly, some of these are no more):

• Sanderson Farms - a big, proud cock rooster named Reveille
• The Safeway Open - a literal wine cask (sadly empty we think)
• Valspar Championship - Paint brush in action
• Hero World Challenge - appears to be a life size tiger holding the world in its paw
• Sentry Tournament of Champions - 35 pound (!) crystal wave and a whale tail
• Sony Open - Odd, but offset by the folks in leis handing it out
• Farmer’s Open - a Torrey Pine trophy plus a full size surfboard
• John Deere Classic - a bucking buck (say that ten times fast while full of malted hops!)

Lest you think this is just for the PGA Tour, there are unusual trophies and they are seemingly everywhere.

Much like the Sanderson Farms Rooster, just be careful who catches you kissing the trophy and especially the angle the photo is taken at, right Cristie Kerr? This particular photo is almost a crime.