A trophy with some teeth: Gator skulls for Henry Tuten Gator Bowl Pro-Am creating a buzz

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. — The buzz at the 46th annual Henry Tuten Gator Bowl Pro-Am last week wasn't about how many PGA Tour winners were in the field (six), or even the foggy, rainy, chilly weather at the picturesque Sea Island Club that made 36 holes at the Plantation and Seaside Course a stern challenge for the second year in a row.

Rather, it was the display in the middle of the stately Sea Island locker room: five gator skulls, encased in wood and glass.

Sea Island members and resort guests stopped and took pictures as if it was a tourist attraction. More than one played with the smaller gator skulls which had hinged mouths that opened and closed.

Then they noticed the purpose of the display: a plate on the smaller cases said: "Henry Tuten Gator Bowl Pro-Am, 2022 champion," with the original Gator Bowl logo, and the larger one had small plates around the perimeter of the base with the names of the winning teams back to 1965 (when Tuten played with six-time PGA Tour winner Dan Sikes and Vernon Ray during the three-man team era).

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"They're very different from most golf trophies," said Chris Tuten. "We're always looking for ways to elevate this event."

Different? No kidding.

Golf tournament keeps going strong

In recent years, the four players on the winning team would receive Gator Bowl watches. There was also a large engraved plaque with the names of all past winners that was commissioned by former Gator Bowl president Rick Catlett when the golf tournament was formally named for Tuten, the founder of the event and long-time administrator.

Tuten will be inducted into the Gator Bowl Hall of Fame during halftime of the game between Notre Dame and South Carolina on Dec. 30 at TIAA Bank Field (3:30 p.m., ESPN). He has kept the best-ball tournament, which annually features major champions on the PGA Tour, club professionals and the area's top amateurs and college players, alive and vibrant at venues such as Sea Island, the TPC Sawgrass, San Jose, Timuquana, Deerwood and Long Point.

To this day, it remains the only athletic event associated with the Gator Bowl, with the basketball tournament, tennis tournament, sailing regatta and 5K run in the past.

This year, PGA Tour winners such as Russell Knox, Billy Horschel, Frank Lickliter, Keith Mitchell, J.T. Poston, Patton Kizzire played at Sea Island. The winning team was Korn Ferry Tour member Tee-K Kelly, two area players who are on the Wake Forest golf team, Scott Kennon and Andrew McLauchlan, and Scott Riley, who owns Live Forever, an area golf apparel company.

St. Augustine company provides skulls

The idea for the trophies came from Gator Bowl Pro-Am committee member Adam Krestalude. When the discussion came up in meetings to come up with a different award for the winners and a permanent trophy, Krestalude thought of the first word in the 78-year old bowl game: Gator.

He brought something to the next meeting: a bleached, preserved gator skull he bought during a trip to New Orleans.

"I thought if we could get some gator skulls and make them into trophies, it would be a great symbol for the tournament and the bowl game," he said.

They didn't have to go as far as New Orleans for more gator skulls. Krestalude found World Wide Wildlife Products, a St. Augustine company that sells animal skulls, shells, horns, antlers, jewelry and other artifacts.

The company had a good supply of gator skulls and the committee settled on heads between 12-14 inches for the individual trophies. The larger gator skull for the permanent trophy is 21 inches long and Kretalude said the company owner told him it came from an 18-foot gator trapped in central Florida.

Once the skulls were procured, they were attached to the handsome wood and glass display cases and bases by Heritage Creations, an Ohio company.

The initial cost for the four individual trophies and the permanent trophy (which weighs around 60 pounds) was around $5,500. Going forward, the cost for the team trophies will be around $2,400.

Krestalude said there was a bit of apprehension about the timetable. Heritage got the finished products shipped to Jacksonville with just more than two weeks to spare before the tournament.

Kelly showed how impressed he was with his trophy. He posted a photo of it on his Twitter account and wrote: "It may be a pro-am but this trophy is going right in the middle of the trophy case."

Of course, there's always one. Mitchell, who played at the University of Georgia, told Krestalude, "I love the trophy but I don't know what I would do with it."

Tuten said the committee is hoping the permanent can be displayed somewhere prominently, such as the Florida-Georgia display in the lobby of the VyStar Memorial Arena.

"It really rings out about the nature of the Gator Bowl Association," he said. "It will give people something to look at for years, finding their names and the names of family members who have won this tournament. We think it's a great addition to the event."

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: A trophy with teeth: Gator skulls now awarded to Henry Tuten Gator Bowl Pro-Am winners