When the Prestwick Golf Club hosted the first Open Championship in 1860, the Earl of Eglinton suggested a special belt be commissioned for the event.
[1][2] Members of the Prestwick Golf Club purchased it from Edinburgh silversmiths James & Walter Marshall[2] for the sum of £25 (worth approximately £3,118 in 2021).
[4]In the 1870 Open Championship, Young Tom Morris won his third consecutive title (1868–1870) and the Challenge Belt became his own property.
[1] Both the Challenge Belt and the Claret Jug are on display in the Royal & Ancient Clubhouse in St Andrews.
[1] The Royal and Ancient Golf Club took possession of the Challenge Belt after the death of Old Tom Morris in 1908 and the Claret Jug in 1928.