How big is it? Who is that on top? What’s it made out of? Interesting facts about the Ryder Cup trophy

If you guessed Samuel A. Ryder, you’re not alone. But it’s not him.

Ryder created the event and commissioned the trophy, but the figure that sits atop the trophy is Abe Mitchell, considered one of the most prominent golfers in Britain during the 1920s.

Mitchell was dubbed “the finest golfer never to win the Open Championship” by longtime golf writer Henry Longhurst. Mitchell competed in two Opens as an amateur, then served his country in World War I. Ahead of the first Ryder Cup in 1927, Ryder named Mitchell captain but Mitchell came down with appendicitis and couldn’t compete.

He would play in three later Ryder Cups, compiling a 4-2-0 career mark.