After winning the 154th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale in Southport last month, golfer Ryan Fox and friends managed to drink 18 bottles of red wine straight from the Claret Jug in a single night.
New Zealander Ryan Fox won his first major golf tournament on 19 July after sinking a 12-foot birdie putt on the final hole to win the British Open Championship.
The golfing professional, son of All Blacks fly-half Grant Fox, was overheard on the phone with his family moments after winning the tournament, saying, “You asked me to bring a trophy home, and I am, aren’t I?”
Like so many tournament winners before him, Fox found himself in possession of the famous Claret Jug, which as db reported, might just be the world’s booziest trophy.
And he certainly made the most of it, beginning immediately after his win, where in the players’ lounge he and his entourage poured red wine into the Claret Jug and drank from the famous trophy.
“It comfortably fits one bottle of wine in it. We tried to tip a couple more but it didn’t quite fit properly,” said Fox.
However, he recounted how no sooner had he transferred the wine into the trophy then he was called back downstairs to have his photo taken with it, “so I had to tip the wine out of the Claret Jug, which was a bit of a shame for the wine,” Fox said.
From putt to party
The golfer later rented a venue for a party of 50 to celebrate his win in style until 3.30am. Between them Fox’s friends and family managed to drink 18 bottles of red wine directly out of the Claret Jug, and no doubt plenty more wine served in traditional glasses.
“It was nice to celebrate it properly. We did it pretty well, maybe not as much as Shane Lowry,” Fox said, referring to the 2019 champion who was filmed downing pints of beer from the Jug in various Irish pubs following his own win.
“But we could tell a couple stories about our celebration,” Fox continued. “My liver needs a bit of a break.”
Going the extra mile
On the flight home, he took his time loading the Claret Jug into the overhead locker.
“Some people were probably getting a little annoyed,” Fox said. “But I wasn’t going to be the person who loses the Claret Jug and puts it in the cargo hold.”
Upon his return to New Zealand, Fox also took the Claret Jug on a camping trip with national rugby team the All Blacks, where the squad reportedly drank beer from the trophy. Fox’s father Grant was a legendary All Blacks player, known for being one of the best goal-kickers the side has ever had, and the team frequently celebrates triumphs by drinking from prestigious silverware, such as the Bledisloe Cup after series wins.
Fine wine and golf: the perfect match
There is a long link between fine wine and golfing victories with one US$450 Napa Cab selling out in 2022 after golfer Phil Mickelson posted a video of himself swigging the wine from his trophy on Instagram.
“You’re always surprised when the most expensive wine you make is the one that sells out the fastest,” Tor Kenward told the San Francisco Chronicle about Tor Wines’ Black Magic Cabernet Sauvignon flying off the shelves.
Additionally, golfer Rory McIlroy racked up an eyewatering US$65,000 wine bill at his Champions dinner following his Masters win last year. He poured wines ranging from US$528 per bottle all the way up to US$1,800 per bottle, with the bottles hailing from Champagne, Burgundy, Bordeaux and Sauternes.
Furthermore, one UK golf course even found itself sitting atop a secret historical wine cellar, when a sinkhole revealed remnants of Port and wine bottles dating back more than a century. the drinks business explores how the introduction of golf in England coincided with the ‘golden era’ for Port, here.
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