Robert Hudson - Special Contribution

Robert Hudson used his business skill and drive to support golf to the benefit of not only the state, but also the golf world during the era surrounding World War II.

Born in 1887, Hudson began working in a grocery at age 14 and became the store’s sales manager at age 19. At age 20, 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 to professional golf in 1944, claiming to have never seen a pro tournament before funding 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.

Continuing to work with the PGA, 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 most heralded accomplishment was helping restart the Ryder Cup, which pits a team of professionals from the U.S. against their counterparts from Britain (now Europe) on a bi-annual basis. 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.

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.

Hudson was inducted to the Pacific Northwest Golf Hall of Fame in 1978 and the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in 1984.