NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. – On Sunday, John Wanamaker is expected to attend the final round of the 108th PGA Championship. If that name rings a bell, it’s because he’s the great-grandson of Rodman Wanamaker for whom the 34-pound silver trophy given to the winner of the PGA Championship is named.
A Philadelphia native, Rodman Wanamaker, whose father opened the first department store in America two years before his birth in 1861, supplied $2,500 of the inaugural $2,850 purse in 1916. He also paid travel expenses for all 32 golf professionals who qualified for the tournament. Above all else, he donated a timeless trophy. He did this largely for business reasons. While not a golfer, his department store had emerged as one of the leading sellers of golf equipment.
A detailed view of the Wanamaker Trophy near the first tee during the first round of the PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club on May 14, 2026.
It’s unclear if John Wanamaker will have any role in the trophy ceremony or if he’s just spectating but Alex Smalley, the 54-hole leader, recounted how he lived at Wannamaker Quad, a dorm at Duke University, where he attended college before turning pro, for three years. Students reportedly refer to it simply as “Wanny,” and while the spelling isn’t exactly the same, Smalley certainly made the connection with the golf trophy.
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“My parents and I have been joking that maybe this would be a tournament that I would win just because of that kind of fact. That’s just kind of something that we’ve joked about even before I made it out here,” he said. “It would be pretty cool to actually pull it out tomorrow.”
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: PGA Championship leader Alex Smalley’s Wanamaker link
