Replica of Gary Player’s 1974 claret jug sells for astonishing price | Golf News & Tour Information

Gary Player may have three Open Championships to his name, but one of his claret jugs is changing hands again. The replica of the nine-time major winner’s trophy from his 1974 triumph recently sold through Golden Age Golf Auctions, and the seller can afford to tee time at every course for a while yet.

Fifty years after he last lifted the trophy at Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club, Player’s replica claret jug sold for $481,068. The starting bid was $5,000 and it took 39 bids and 11 days to reach the stunning final price. The winning bid surpassed the previous bid by $80,000. The auction site did not reveal the names of the buyer or seller.

“The rarity of official large claret jugs such as this cannot be overstated,” Golden Age noted on the individual auction page. “Although we have had the privilege of auctioning 7 different Masters Tournament trophies over the years, this is the ONLY official large Claret Jug we have ever auctioned.

“When Gary Player won his Open Championships, he had to return the permanent Claret Jug after his year as reigning champion ended. Years later, the Royal & Ancient finally allowed a full-scale Claret Jug to be produced for each living Open Champion (only one for each victory), including this trophy.”

This particular 19-inch trophy (90 percent the size of the original) was displayed for years at Gary Player’s golf course design company, according to Golden Age. They even updated the Champions engraving through 2006 after Tiger Woods’ back-to-back victories.

Player’s triumph in 1974 was not only his third win at the vaunted major, but a domination from start to finish, with him winning by four strokes over England’s Peter Oosterhuis. The South African was also fresh from a Masters win, so hopefully some of his strong play would have rubbed off on the trophy for its well-heeled buyer.

Player also sold his 1978 Masters Tournament trophy through Golden Age. It had a starting bid of $10,000 and eventually sold for $253,386 in 2020.