Cameron Champ shot a 3-under par 69 to win his first career PGA Tour title. And for his maiden victory the 23-year old Cali native was handed a chicken trophy to raise for the cameras.
Taking a quick pulse of the fan’s feedback online, the vast majority hated it, although some dug it:
John H: “Congrats but worst trophy ever.”
Mike: “Congrats, here’s a chicken.”
Jacob: “PGA you must be joking.”
Joe: “Best trophy on tour.”
Adam: “I need to win that trophy.”
This raised an interesting question: what is the PGA Tour’s worst trophy?
As a traditionalist, the new trophy unveiled last season for the Sentry Tournament of Champions is my pick for the worst. It seems like something you’d find on clearance at Home Goods. To make matters worse, the Kapalua event once awarded one the Tour’s classiest looking trophies when it was sponsored by Hyundai.
The Mayakoba’s chameleon (if I remember) is also terrible-looking swag. Other crap trophies include: Valspar’s paint brush, Safeway’s wine barrel, and Farmers’ torrey pine tree (and surfboard). Also, the Tour Championship’s Calamity Jane putter replica is a nice touch but shouldn’t be its primary trophy – it just looks out of place in the winner’s circle.
Some of the Tour’s better trophies include the World Golf Championships series of painted jugs. Jack’s glass Memorial trophy is timeless, while Arnold Palmer’s is pretty solid. The Travelers, Wyndham, and RSM all hand out classic pieces of silverware.
The best, though, are three of the four major trophies (in order): the U.S. Open, Claret Jug and Wannamaker Trophy.
