Charles Schwab Challenge again has a unique prize for its winner. What is it?
Since becoming the title sponsor of the Charles Schwab Challenge in 2019, the financial services company has given each year’s winner a custom car. This year’s champion will receive a 1992 Schwab Defender in addition to a $1.71 million purse and 500 FedEx Cup points.
Stacy Hammond, Managing Director and Chief Marketing Officer of Charles Schwab, explained the meaning behind this year’s car.
“This year’s Champion’s Prize celebrates pivotal moments that transform the status quo,” said Hammond, “In 1992, Schwab launched Mutual Fund OneSource to remove barriers and make it easier to diversify their portfolios. It’s an innovation that continued Schwab’s mission to transform our industry and offer investors more choice.”
Mason Reed, Managing Director of Retail Acquisition and Corporate Marketing at Charles Schwab, explained why the 1992 Schwab Defender was the perfect choice.
“Real car aficionados know that those old defenders, particularly from the early 90s, were real collector’s items, and so I think it’s a double whammy,” said Reed, “The car is iconic, and it’s also a car that can be a great daily driver for a winner. They can drive this car to Trader Joe’s and drive it around town. It’s intended to do that. This is not meant to be something sitting on there, sitting in a garage or gathering dust, so an iconic car, and something that is still particularly relevant today.”
The car has several special features, including a royal tartan interior, matching the jacket given to the winner of the tournament, an L.L. Bean fly rod, custom mounts, special Schwab badging on the car, and a leather interior, among other features.
Reed’s favorite features on this year’s car was the tartan interior
“I’m a sucker for the tartan touches, because tartan is an interesting look,” said Reed, “I think it’s just a wonderful nod to the history of the golf tournament. Now, that said, the car also has a fly rod and an axe on it, which, if you’re an outdoorsman, that will cut, that’ll be a fantastic detail of this vehicle.”
Winslow Brent, founder of Legacy Classic Trucks, which focuses on restoring vintage trucks and buses, located in Jackson, Wyo, restored the car.
This company also restored the 1946 Power Wagon, given to Jason Kokrak after winning the tournament in 2021, and Reed said they were excited to work with the company again.
“We actually used them for the ‘46 power wagon, and that’s how we originally started a relationship with them. And it turns out that they don’t just do 75-year-old vehicles. They are very good at rehabilitating classic cars, said Reed, “There’s also little stuff and highly detailed work that gets done. So you’re trying to find a partner that can do both, that has the technical abilities to update the car as needed, but also the style that gives it its flair. So when we do things like tartan seats, or LL Bean fly rods. They have that sensibility.”
Reed also said, though he knows it would be a challenge, that he’d love to try and get all the classic cars back to the Charles Schwab Challenge for a special occasion, like the 10th anniversary of them giving classic cars as a prize.
The favorite to win this year’s car is Texas product Scottie Scheffler, who’s won his last two tournaments in a row, including the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow, the third major championship win of his career.
This story was originally published May 21, 2025 at 4:00 PM.
