About the Hudson Cup
The Hudson Cup pairs the top 10 PNW PGA Professionals against the top 10 Pacific Northwest amateurs in matches patterned after the Ryder Cup. Teams are selected based on their competitive records throughout the season and represent the very best of Northwest golf.
Professional team captains are appointed by the President of the Section, and amateur team captains are appointed by the amateur bodies.
The inaugural Hudson Cup Matches were held in 1949 at Portland Golf Club (photo). The professional team of Richards-Litton came out on top in this match, besting Shriver-Bates 6 and 5 in the 36-hole foursome match.
Robert A. Hudson
Any attempt to relate the history of the Hudson Cup matches must start with the man himself. Robert A. Hudson was a very successful Portland businessman whose firm, Hudson House, was one of the nation’s leading wholesale grocers. Hudson played golf at Portland Golf Club and was devoted to the game. During World War II, the PGA of America was trying to keep its Tour alive and was in dire need of sponsors. Hudson stepped up to the plate with the urging of Larry Lamberger, Portland Golf Club head professional, and offered to underwrite a 72- hole open tournament with a purse of $10,000. Thus the 1944 Portland Open was born, and Sam Snead won it. Hudson stayed with the program and went on to sponsor the 1945 Portland Open (in which Ben Hogan set the 72-par 72- hole scoring record of 27-under-par 261) and the 1946 PGA Championship, won by Hogan. Hudson went on to sponsor Portland Opens in 1948 and 1949 and the Western Open in 1955, all at Portland Golf Club, and he became the first chairman of the PGA Advisory Committee.
How Hudson Saved the Ryder Cup
Larry Lamberger
It is doubtful the Ryder Cup Matches would have resumed had Hudson not come forward to fund the British team. Food rationing was still in force in Britain when Hudson stepped up and offered his help and the use of Portland Golf Club. Hudson was the perfect host, meeting the British team in New York after they arrived on the Queen Mary and joining the players for a 3 1/2 day rail journey to the Pacific Northwest. Once at Portland Golf Club, the Americans were overwhelming in their dominance on a course that suffered under extreme wet conditions, winning the Matches 11-1. Only Britain’s Sam King was able to muster a point, defeating Herman Keiser, 4 and 3, in the singles. Following the Matches, Hudson sent Christmas baskets of food to all members of the British Team and others he met in 1947 and again in 1951. Even when the food rationing ended, the baskets continued to arrive.
1949, Lamberger and Al Zimmerman, who was at Portland’s old Alderwood Country Club, thought the Pacific Northwest Section should honor Hudson in some way, and they hit upon the idea of a team match pitting the top 10 club professionals against the 10 leading amateurs in the Northwest. So, late that year, the first matches were held at Portland Golf Club. The format was patterned after the Ryder Cup with 36-hole foursome matches the first day and 36-hole singles the second day. The professionals, led by Bud Ward, Stan Leonard and Chuck Congdon, posted a 12 1/2 to 2 1/2 victory.
When Mr. Hudson learned of the Matches, he immediately insisted on footing the bill, and he continued to do so through 1972. When he no longer could do so, the Section took over the financial responsibility which it has carried forward to this day. Today, the Section is assisted by funds contributed by the Washington State Golf Association, the Oregon Golf Association, and the Pacific Northwest Golf Association.
Modernizing the Matches
The format was changed in 1966 when the foursome matches were shortened to 18-holes and four-ball competition was added for the first afternoon. Second day singles, at 18-holes, complete the event, and a total of 20 points are available.
A major impetus was added to the matches in 1992 when a Senior Hudson Cup competition was started. It features the leading senior players among the club professionals and Northwest amateurs and has resulted in some very close outcomes, such as a 10-10 tie in 1994 at Sand Point.
Awards
At the completion of the matches, awards are presented to the outstanding player on each team as decided by votes of the team members. They honor Chuck Congdon, Larry Lamberger, Bob McKendrick and Bill Eggers, four great players with outstanding Hudson Cup records.
More than 350 players have earned Hudson Cup honors, some only in one year, others in many years. Dr. Kent Myers, a four-time Oregon Amateur champion, played on 18 amateur teams and five senior teams, and he was amateur captain every year from 1972 through 1988 and again in 1990. He also served as the Senior Amateur Captain in 1998. Bob McKendrick, Oswego Lake CC professional, played on 18 teams. Lamberger not only played on five teams, he served as captain 26 times from 1950 until 1980.
