Todd Hamilton sure enjoyed his year with the Claret Jug.
He used it for a champagne celebration. He let a friend swill beer from it. ("That smell is kind of difficult to get out of there," Hamilton admitted.) He hauled it to courses that shaped his game as a youngster. He showed it off at clubs he plays now near his Dallas home.
"Obviously, I had a great year as the -- for lack of a better word -- owner of the trophy," Hamilton said on Wednesday.
PHOTO: EPA
"I think I got a bigger kick out of seeing the smiling faces on people who may never, ever have a chance to see it again," he said.
Nothing lasts forever. Barring another improbable victory at the British Open, Hamilton will have to get through the upcoming year without that treasured piece of hardware at his beckon call.
He turned in the jug when he got to St. Andrews, where the 134th Open began yesterday at the birthplace of golf.
But Hamilton still has at least a few more days as the reigning champion, duties he carried out faithfully while standing next to the putting green on the eve of the tournament. Even with someone to meet, he patiently signed every hat, program and flag that was put in front of him.
"Can you sign this, champ?" someone asked, thrusting a piece of memorabilia Hamilton's way.
Nearby, a chap with a thick Scottish burr asked a question that still comes up for one of the most unlikely major winners: "Who's that?"
"Todd Hamilton," someone replied.
A blank stare.
"The guy who won last year."
Hamilton was a 38-year-old rookie on the US PGA Tour -- not long removed from plying his trade as an expatriate in Japan -- when he defeated three-time major winner Ernie Els in a four-hole playoff at Royal Troon last year.
Hamilton hoisted the jug of the world's oldest championship, hauled it back across the Atlantic for the yearlong victory tour and assured himself that he was just getting started on a long, successful career.
Instead, much like 2003 winner Ben Curtis, Hamilton has given little indication of being more than a one-week American fluke in the British Isles.
"It hasn't turned out the way I anticipated" he admitted.
Hamilton certainly knows what it takes to win, whether on the Asian Tour (three victories in 1992), the Japan Tour (11 triumphs from 92-03) or the US PGA Tour (he won the Honda Classic last year in just his sixth event after earning his card for the first time).
When Hamilton bumped off one of the world's top players to become a member of the exclusive major-winners club, it seemed he was a late bloomer who merely needed a chance.
"I didn't think it was easy, but I thought the success that I had would give me a lot of confidence to go on and do bigger and better things," Hamilton said.
After winning at Troon, Hamilton had only one other top-10 finish last year.
"I just can't get anything strung together," Hamilton moaned.
"I'll have two good rounds or three good rounds, but I always throw in a 75 or 76, it seems like, and that doesn't do you any good," he said.
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