Crafting a Crown Fit for Champions: Bennett Awards and the 2025 Kroger Queen City Championship Trophy
2025 Kroger Queen City Championship Trophy, designed by Bennett Awards
Part 1 – The Who, What, and Why Behind the Project
The 2025 Kroger Queen City Championship marked the third consecutive year that Bennett Awards partnered with the Fred Meyer team to create the tournament’s signature custom trophy. The LPGA Tour event, held this year from September 11–14 at TPC River’s Bend in Hamilton Township, Ohio, celebrates world-class golf and the vibrant spirit of Cincinnati — affectionately known as “The Queen City.”
Since its founding in 2022, the Kroger Queen City Championship has quickly become a standout event on the LPGA Tour, drawing international attention from millions of viewers across Golf Channel and CBS Sports broadcasts. The tournament’s sponsors, including Kroger and Procter & Gamble, envisioned a trophy that would celebrate this prestigious event and the local heritage of Cincinnati.
After the tournament’s first year, Fred Meyer Jewelers — a Kroger subsidiary — approached Bennett to reinterpret and refine the design they had previously used, building upon the original concept to elevate the craftsmanship and impact of the piece. Since then, their continued collaboration between Bennett Awards and the Fred Meyer team speaks to the trust, quality, and creativity that define their partnership.
Part 2 – Design Development and Collaboration
The client’s design brief centered around a few core themes: regal sophistication, athletic dynamism, and local identity. Drawing inspiration from Cincinnati’s dual nicknames — “The Queen City” and the “City of Seven Hills” — Bennett’s design team developed a trophy shaped like a crown with seven distinct points, each representing one of those historic hills.
The twisting body of the trophy evokes a golfer’s graceful motion at the peak of a swing — capturing both the power and fluidity of the sport. At the top of the crown, a metallic blue insert lines the depression at its center, adding depth and vibrancy to the silver-toned form. The blue anodized aluminum also echoes the tones of the LPGA logo and Cincinnati’s connection to the Ohio River, tying the piece back to the community it celebrates.
While the initial 2022 version of the award featured a freestanding body, the 2023 redesign introduced a custom base — a crucial structural and aesthetic improvement. The new base, CNC-milled from aluminum and finished in black anodization, grounds the design while giving the trophy a refined contrast that enhances the crown’s brilliance.
Throughout the design process, Bennett Awards collaborated closely with Fred Meyer and the event organizers. The Bennett team provided digital renderings and variations on the crown motif — including one concept featuring a blue sphere resting inside the crown. Ultimately, the organizers chose the recessed insert approach to maintain continuity with their previous design while embracing a sense of depth and sophistication.
At 16.5 inches tall (including a 3-inch base) and 6.5 inches wide at the crown, the trophy strikes an elegant balance between grandeur and proportion. Subtly, the base is just a quarter-inch narrower than the widest part of the award — a thoughtful engineering detail that makes the crown appear even more majestic without compromising stability.
Part 3 – The Final Product
The finished trophy is a stunning combination of artistry and precision engineering. Its body, machined from solid aluminum, is polished and nickel-plated to achieve a radiant metallic sheen that gleams under the blue skies at the golf course. The black anodized base anchors the piece, while the blue anodized aluminum insert adds a pop of color that catches the eye in photos and broadcasts.
In the final ceremony, the trophy became an instant icon. When England’s Charley Hull lifted the crown this year after her dramatic victory over Jeeno Thitikul, the moment was captured in press photos and highlight reels around the world. Hull took an iconic selfie with the award for her social media, which was largely possible because the award is discreetly light enough to hold in one hand. Additionally, the image of Hull kissing the gleaming Bennett trophy became a defining visual of the 2025 LPGA season.
Each year, the tournament also maintains a perpetual award engraved with past winners’ names, including Lydia Ko, Minjee Lee, and Ally Ewing. Charley Hull’s 2025 victory — her first LPGA win since 2022 and third career title — has now been added to this legacy piece, a continuing tradition that Bennett Awards is proud to help shape.
Part 4 – The Impact and Legacy
The Kroger Queen City Championship continues to grow both in attendance and visibility. In 2025, the event set a new record, with attendance surpassing the 50,000 fans who attended the previous year. Broadcast on Golf Channel and CBS Sports, the tournament reached a global audience — part of the LPGA’s estimated 3.4 million unique viewers per broadcast across television and digital platforms.
The trophy’s prominent role in the event’s coverage underscores its significance. From the televised award presentation to the global press images, the Bennett-crafted crown has became a symbol of triumph, tradition, and local pride. Images of Hull with this year’s award are also prominently featured on the home page of the tournament website.
For Bennett Awards, this ongoing collaboration represents more than just an annual commission — it’s a testament to enduring partnerships, evolving craftsmanship, and the power of design to embody achievement. As the Kroger Queen City Championship continues to rise in prestige, Bennett Awards remains honored to create the symbol of victory that champions like Charley Hull proudly hoist toward the blue skies.
