Onlookers gasped loudly as Vance scrambled to retrieve the base of the 35-pound trophy from the floor and put it back together. Several of the players could be seen smirking in the background.

The famed Wanamaker Trophy is the largest and heaviest in golf, but don’t think for one minute it can’t ever be lost. A star-studded field is converging on North Carolina this week for the PGA ...