An amateur golfer saved the Ryder Cup!

“DID YOU KNOW”
An amateur golfer saved the Ryder Cup!

First contested in 1927, the Ryder Cup was interrupted by World War II, and postponed twice. With war in Europe and then World War II, there were no meetings of the teams from 1939 to 1946. That could have been the last of the Ryder Cup if not for an amateur from Portland, Oregon.

With the United States at war there were only four tournaments on the PGA Tour in 1943. Byron Nelson and Jug McSpaden, who were judged to be unfit for military service and classified 4-F, were playing exhibitions for wartime charities. At Portland, Oregon they were introduced to Robert A. Hudson, the president of Portland Country Club. Hudson, a fruit grower and canner, asked them how much it would cost to host a Portland Open on the PGA Tour. They replied that there had been tournaments on the 1942 PGA Tour with purses as little as $5,000. Hudson said that he would do better than that.

In 1944 the PGA Tour was back with nearly a full schedule. Hudson sponsored a Portland Open with $13,600 in prize money, which was only second to the $17,500 Philadelphia Inquirer Open that year. In 1945 he sponsored a Portland Open again and raised the prize money to 14,500. The next year Hudson spent $25,000 of his own money hosting the 1946 PGA Championship with $17,950 in prize money. All of the other tournaments on the 1946 PGA Tour were played for less money.

With World War II over, Hudson decided the Ryder Cup should be revived. Hudson contacted the PGA of America to say that his club would host the match and he would provide whatever finances were needed.

Hudson paid the travel expenses for the Great Britain & Irish team on the Queen Mary. He met them in New York upon their arrival. They were wined and dined at the Waldorf Astoria, before boarding a train with Hudson to travel on the three-day cross-country trip to Portland. Hudson paid for the GB&I Team’s housing, meals and everything else. To help the GB&I professionals make up for lost income while away from home, the PGA of America arranged paid exhibitions.

Hudson’s friends had told him he was crazy to host the Ryder Cup in Portland during what was their rainy season, but he did. Played on November 1 & 2, Portland had record rain in October and it rained for seven straight days leading up to the match. At midday of the first round more deluges of rain arrived. Sunday was a high of 58 degrees with light rain. The players were allowed to lift their golf balls from the wet, but they could not clean them. When dropped over their shoulders, the balls would plug slightly. A member of the GB&I team referred to the golf course as slop. He said that if it was in England they would not have played.

After years of war in Europe the GB&I team was not prepared for “world class” golf. The American Team swept the foursomes (alternate strokes), with Wilmington, Delaware’s Ed Oliver and Lew Worsham winning by 10&9. All matches were 36 holes. With playing-captain Ben Hogan benching himself for the eight singles matches, the GB&I won its lone point. Oliver won his singles match by 4&3. The feature singles match was Sam Snead versus GB&I captain Henry Cotton. It was reported, for the 32 holes the match lasted, neither player spoke to the other one and neither conceded a putt. Two-down after 9 holes, Snead won 5&4. The final score was USA 11-GB&I 1.

Hudson spent another $70,000 hosting that Ryder Cup. At Christmas Hudson sent food baskets to the GB&I team and the PGA officials who had accompanied the team. He continued to do that for many years. He is often referred to as the “The Savior of Ryder Cup” or “Ryder Cup Angel”.

In 1949 the US Team was off to England for the Ryder Cup with its non-playing captain Ben Hogan, who was recovering from his near fatal auto accident. The US team was properly fed. They left New York with 600 steaks, 6 hams, 12 sides of beef and 4 boxes of bacon. No one said it, but everyone assumed the meat was provided by Hudson.

With the 1951 Ryder Cup back in the states at Pinehurst, North Carolina, Hudson, a co-sponsor of the match, paid all of the travel expenses for the GB&I team from the time they arrived in New York to Pinehurst. Four years later he sponsored the 1955 Ryder Cup at the Thunderbird Golf & Country Club in Palm Springs, California, where he had a winter home. Just as before, Hudson paid the expenses for the GB&I team; travel, lodging and meals. Then, Hudson decided that he would like to host the 1959 Ryder Cup at another one of his Palm Springs clubs, the newly opened Eldorado Country Club. Again Hudson paid all expenses for the GB&I Team, including travel from England.

Hudson’s title while with the US Ryder Cup team was, “Ryder Cup Secretary”. In 1951 Hudson was made a vice president to the British PGA, the first American to hold that position.