The 150th Open Claret Jug Tour

Golf’s most famous trophy, the Claret Jug, will tour the UK and Ireland as we count down to The 150th Open at the home of golf, St Andrews.

The 150th Open Claret Jug Tour, in partnership with HSBC UK, will visit schools, golf clubs, city centres and HSBC UK branches from Wednesday 15 June through to the Championship in mid-July.

Dating back to 1872, the Claret Jug is presented to the Champion Golfer of the Year at The Open. Originally produced by renowned silversmiths, Mackay Cunningham & Company of Edinburgh, the trophy has been on permanent display at the clubhouse of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews since 1928.

The 150th Open Claret Jug Tour, in partnership with HSBC UK, will give fans the chance to follow in the footsteps of Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Jack Nicklaus and Sir Nick Faldo by getting up close to one of sport’s most recognised prizes.

The 150th Open at St Andrews will be the largest in the Championship's proud history with a record-breaking 290,000 fans set to attend at the world-renowned Old Course from 10-17 July.

Starting in early June at Royal St George's Golf Club in Kent, host of The 149th Open, the tour will visit eight cities across the UK & Ireland including Belfast, Dublin, Manchester, London, Leeds, Liverpool, Edinburgh and Birmingham before reaching St Andrews on Sunday 10 July.

Old and new golfing fans will be able to get their picture taken with the Claret Jug at a selection of venues including golf clubs, HSBC branches and public landmarks.

The 150th Open Claret Jug Tour will also seek to inspire the next generation of golfing champions by visiting schools and community groups along the tour route, as part of HSBC Golf Roots, the umbrella development programme of The Golf Foundation that HSBC has supported since 2011.

Tour schedule:

Neil Armit, Chief Commercial Officer of The R&A said: "We’re incredibly excited to take the Claret Jug out on the road to celebrate what promises to be an unforgettable Championship at St Andrews.

"We hope to ignite the imagination of the public across the UK & Ireland as we introduce the magic of the Claret Jug to the fans.

"Thanks to our partners HSBC, the tour will take in some of the UK & Irelands’ most historic settings, famous golf clubs and inspire the next generation of golfing superstars by visiting schools along the way.

"We can’t wait to get started and look forward to seeing thousands of people meet the famous trophy."