The 2016 U.S. Open Golf Tournament got off to a rocky start on Thursday no thanks to the weather. From now on the weather doesn’t look like it will be much of a problem. This is the 116th U.S. Open, which takes place at the very prestigious Oakmont Country Club.
Horace Rawlins was the first person to win the U.S. Open in 1895. It would be the only major he would win during his professional playing career. The purse for the first U.S. Open was $335. For winning, Rawlins received $150, a $50 gold medal, and his club got the Open Championship Cup trophy. I guess you could say the prize money has really gone up since then. The 2016 winner will get around $2 million.
Golf is one of the oldest sports in the world. It has such a rich history. I’d like to see a golf card product that dives into that history. Golfers like Horace Rawlins deserve to be remembered on cardboard. Imagine that product containing relic cards housing blades of grass and sand from some of the most famous golf courses in the world. Topps could put an Archives spin on it and have cast members from the movie Caddyshack sign autographs. Even though golf has had it’s share of products over the years, there is still a lot that hasn’t been done with that brand. The odds of this coming true are extremely slim. I don’t think there’s been a standalone golf product since 2014 Upper Deck Exquisite Collection. Golfers have really only been appearing in multi-sport products recently. Popular young talents like Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler have yet to receive true golf rookie cards outside of some promos/baseball inserts and Sports Illustrated for Kids stuff.
The pin pictured above is what you’ll find for sale in the gift shops. They run about $5, and are quite easy to come by.
Filed under: "Pin-Up" of the Week | Tagged: 2016, logo, oakmont, of, open, pin, pin-up, the, u.s., week | Leave a comment »