One of golf's greatest traditions, the Ryder Cup, was kept alive by a grocer from Portland. Robert Hudson (July 27, 1887 – September 4, 1974) used his business skill and drive to support golf during the era surrounding World War II.
Hudson began working for a wholesale grocer at age 14 and became the store’s sales manager at age 19. One year later he bought the store and started the Hudson-Duncan Company, which operated throughout Oregon and became the nation’s leading wholesale grocer during World War II.
Hudson, a member of the Portland Golf Club, took an interest in professional golf in 1944. He claimed to have never seen a pro tournament before, then funded the Portland Open that year with a $10,000 purse. Sam Snead won the tournament, which was played in torrential rain. Ben Hogan won in 1945 with the tournament again being funded by Hudson.
The Portland Golf Club played host to the PGA Championship in 1946. At the tournament, writers from across the nation who attended the tournament, won by Hogan, founded the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA).
Hudson’s greatest accomplishment was helping restart the Ryder Cup, which pits a team of professionals from the U.S. against their counterparts from Britain (now Europe) every two years. Hudson funded the British team so it could travel to Portland in 1947, restarting the event after a 10-year absence. The GWAA voted Hudson Man of the Year in 1947.
Hudson, who became known for golfing on Thursdays with managers within his company, sponsored the Portland Open again in 1947 and the 1955 Western Open, which was played at the Portland Golf Club.
The PGA’s Pacific Northwest Section created a Ryder Cup-style tournament in 1949 and named it the Hudson Cup, which annually pits five amateurs and five professionals from Oregon against those from Washington. Hudson sponsored the event through the ‘60s and it is now in its 8th decade.
Hudson expanded his role within the PGA of America by serving on its Advisory Committee in the ‘50s and helped focus the PGA Tour on customer service at events.
Robert Hudson was inducted to the Pacific Northwest Golf Hall of Fame in 1978