Norman’s 1986 Claret Jug goes under the hammer

A replica of Greg Norman’s Claret Jug from his 1986 Open Championship win at Turnberry has sold for US$88,809.60.

The two-third replica of golf’s most identifiable trophy was sold at auction on Saturday night in the States.

Greg Norman wins his first major at the 1986 British Open (Credit: R&A)

Norman’s dominate five-shot win on the Scottish Ayrshire coast was his 10th appearance in golf’s oldest major and the first of two Open victories, with his only other Major triumph in 1993 at Royal St. George’s.

When Norman arrived at Turnberry, he had famously been runner-up earlier that year to Jack Nicklaus at the Masters while he would also finish runner-up weeks after his Open success at the PGA Championship. The dashing blond-haired Aussie did win two PGA Tour events earlier in 1986.

Notably, Norman earned his first prize cheque at Turnberry of £50,000 and the amount the Claret Jug was sold when translated into UK Sterling (£50,247).

It is unknown how Norman’s 1986 replica Claret Jug arrived at the auction table but then the Great White Shark is not the only past Open winner to have a trophy auctioned.

Sam Snead’s 1949 Open winning trophy for his four-shot success at St. Andrews sold for $US 292,900 in 2013 and Mark Calcavecchia’s 1989 trophy from the year at Royal Troon when he beat Aussies Wayne Grady and Norman in a play-off, was sold for US$95, 525.