The Wanamaker Trophy
This is Major
The Wanamaker Trophy, named after businessman, golfer, and PGA of America founder Rodman Wanamaker, stands nearly 2.5 ft tall and weighs 27 lb. The trophy was lost, briefly, for a few years until it showed up in 1930 in the cellar of L.A. Young and Company. Ironically, this cellar was in the factory which made the clubs for the man responsible for losing it, Walter Hagen. Hagen claimed to have trusted a taxi driver with the precious cargo, but it never returned to his hotel. There is a smaller replica trophy that the champion gets to keep permanently, but the original must be returned for the following year's tournament.
Quick Facts
- First champion
- Jim Barnes
Lore & Background
The PGA Championship is the only one of the four men's major golf championships that is exclusively for professional players. It is not open to amateurs as a standard practice.
Reader's Guide
The PGA Championship is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers' Association of America. It is an official money event on the PGA Tour, European Tour, and Japan Golf Tour. The tournament was originally a match play event from 1916 through 1957, then changed to stroke play starting in 1958. Since 2019, it is played in May on the weekend before Memorial Day.
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