Five Fast Facts: The Senior PGA Championship Trophy Visits Maple Hill

The KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship trophy visits Maple Hill Golf’s Grandville location May 13, from 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. giving individuals old and young the opportunity to snap a picture with the trademark trophy presented to the Senior PGA Championship winner before it heads down to Benton Harbor, Mich.

The PGA Tour Champions, formally the PGA Senior Tour and PGA Champions Tour, is the PGA’s tour for professional golfers 50 and over. Many of golf’s greats including Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus have competed on the tour, adding wins to their already legendary resumes.

The KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship returns to Benton Harbor’s signature Jack Nicklas-designed course, Harbor Shores Golf Course, just an hour’s drive south on scenic M-31 for Grand Rapids area residents. The tournament takes place May 22-25.

But before you head down to watch some of golf’s greats, you can get up close and personal with the trophy at Maple Hill Golf. Here’s some fast facts you need to know about the trophy before you snag a selfie.

What's in name? The Alfred S. Bourne Trophy.

Although not a commonly used name like the Vince Lombardi Trophy or the Stanley Cup, the Senior PGA Championship’s trophy is officially known as the Alfred S. Bourne Trophy. Alfred Severin Bourne, described in his New York Times obituary as an “athletics patron,” was a philanthropist, avid and successful amateur golfer and founding member of Augusta National Golf Club with longtime friend and golf icon, Bobby Jones. The trophy is often known to its caretakers as simply, “Alfred.”

Sunday Dinner at Tiffany’s?

Tiffany & Co. has a thing for trophies. Not only the crafters of the NFL’s Vince Lombardi Trophy and the NBA’s Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy, but Tiffany also crafted the Alfred S. Bourne Trophy. Before it bore his name, Bourne purchased the trophy for $1,500 from Tiffany & Co. in 1937. In today’s dollars that is almost $30,000.

A Decent Lift

By any measure, the trophy is a big one. Weighing in at 36 pounds, 18 inches wide and 42 inches tall, it's rather large for a golf trophy. Comparatively, the PGA Championship’s Wanamaker Trophy, is 27 pounds, 27 inches wide from handle to handle and 28 inches tall. The Open Championship’s legendary claret jug and arguably the most famous trophy in golf, is just over 20 inches tall and about 5.5 pounds.

In the hands of legends

It’s not just an old trophy held by some guys you have never heard of. Gene Sarazen (1954, ‘58), Sam Snead (1964, ‘65, ‘67, ‘70, ‘72, 73), Arnold Palmer (1980, ‘84), Gary Player (1986, ‘88, ‘90), Jack Nicklaus (1991), Lee Trevino (1992, ‘94) and Tom Watson (2001, ‘11). This year’s field as of April 15 features 27 Major Champions including Fred Couples, John Daly, Ernie Els, Jim Furyk, Padraig Harrington, Bernhard Langer, Tom Lehman, Larry Mize, Corey Pavin, Vijay Singh and Mike Weir.

Older than its tour

The Senior PGA Championship pre-dates the creation of golf’s senior tour by 43 years. The Senior PGA Championship first began in 1937 while the tour did not become an official tour until 1980. Thus, the trophy, purchased at the same time as the creation of the tourney, is 85 years old.