Major champions and Ryder Cup stars Shane Lowry and Justin Rose have been honoured by the PGA for their performances in the 2024 Open Championship at Royal Troon.
Both are playing in the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth and Lowry was presented with the Tooting Bec Cup by the Association’s Captain, Peter Laugher, on the eve of the tournament.
The Tooting Bec Cup is the oldest trophy the PGA Membership competes for and was first played for as a 36-hole strokeplay tournament shortly after the Association was founded in 1901.
It was presented by the Tooting Bec Golf Club, which hosted the first tournament, and the inaugural winner was J H Taylor, one the Association’s three founders. Sadly, Tooting Bec Golf Club no longer exists and the criteria for winning the cup has changed.
It is now awarded to the PGA Member born in, or with a parent or parents born in the United Kingdom or the Republic of Ireland, who posts the lowest score in The Open.
Lowry, an Honorary Member of The PGA due to his Open Championship triumph at Royal Portrush in 2019, achieved that this year when he posted a five-under par total of 66 in the first round at Royal Troon.
Rose, meanwhile, was presented with the Braid Taylor Memorial Medal which, introduced in 1966 and subject to the same criteria as the Tooting Bec Cup, is awarded to the Association’s Member who finishes highest in the Open Championship.
The 2013 US Open champion and PGA Honorary Member added his name to a distinguished list by finishing runner up at Royal Troon, two shots behind Xander Schauffele on seven-under.
