The 70th edition of the Hudson Cup will be held October 18-19 at Overlake Golf and Country Club in Medina, Wash. The illustrious event, played in a format similar to the Ryder Cup, will see 10 of the best amateur players from Washington and Oregon compete against the top 10 Pacific Northwest Section PGA professionals. Being held concurrently at Overlake will be the 26th Senior Hudson Cup, matching up the top 10 Pacific Northwest Section PGA senior members against the top 10 senior amateurs from Washington and Oregon.
Last year, for just the eighth time in Senior Hudson Cup history, the Senior Amateurs defeated the Senior PGA Professionals, 11 to 9. In the 69th Hudson Cup, the PGA Professionals defeated the Amateurs, 12.5 to 7.5.
The Oregon Golf Association (OGA) and Washington State Golf Association (WSGA) work together to select a total of 10 amateurs and 10 senior amateurs to compete against the professionals. Of the 10 players in each category, five will represent the OGA and five will represent the WSGA. Amateur team members are selected based on season-long performance points earned through each respective Association.
Among the selections:
Amateur team (WSGA):
Jacob Koppenberg
- 2018 Pacific Northwest Men’s Amateur Championship – Quarterfinalist
- 2018 U.S. Amateur Qualifier – Medalist
- 2018 Puget Sound Amateur Championship – Champion
- 2018 Washington State Champion of Champions – T6
Nick Mandell
- 2018 Pacific Northwest Men’s Amateur Championship – Quarterfinalist
- 2018 Northwest Open – T4
- 2018 Washington State Men’s Amateur Championship – T12
Senior Amateur Team (WSGA):
Alex Stamey
- 2018 Washington State Men’s Mid-Amateur Championship – T3
- 2018 Pacific Northwest Men’s Mid-Amateur Championship – T11
- 2018 Washington State Senior Men’s Amateur Championship – 8th place
Jim McNelis
- 2018 Pacific Northwest Senior Men’s Amateur Championship – 2nd place
- 2018 Washington State Senior Men’s Amateur Championship – 2nd place
- 2018 U.S. Senior Amateur Championship – Round of 64
- 2018 U.S. Senior Amateur Qualifier – Medalist
- 2018 Washington State Senior Champion of Champions – 2nd place
- Click here to follow along with live scoring of the Hudson Cup.
- Click here to follow along with live scoring for the Senior Hudson Cup.
The Pacific Northwest Section PGA also selects their professional team members based on performance points earned throughout the season.
Each player will compete in three matches, including a foursome match, a four-ball match, and a singles match. At the completion of the matches, awards are presented to the outstanding player on each team as decided by votes of the opposite team. The awards honor Chuck Congdon, Larry Lamberger, Bob McKendrick and Bill Eggers, four great players with outstanding Hudson Cup records and a strong tie to the event’s rich history.
Professional team captains are appointed by the president of the Pacific Northwest Section PGA, and amateur team captains are appointed by the OGA and WSGA.
This year, the Amateurs in the Hudson Cup will be captained by John Bracken, winner of the 2015 PNGA Senior Men’s Amateur; and the PGA Professionals will be captained by David Phay, PGA Head Professional at Whidbey Golf Club who played on three previous Hudson Cup teams. In the Senior Hudson Cup, the senior Amateurs will be captained by John Saegner Jr., former Sr. Director of Course Rating at the Washington State Golf Association; while the captain for the senior PGA Professionals is Kevin Bishop, PGA Professional who is currently the coach of the St. Martin’s University men’s golf team, and who played on three previous Senior Hudson Cup teams.
In 1949, two PGA Professionals from Oregon, Larry Lamberger and Al Zimmerman, thought the Pacific Northwest Section PGA should pay tribute to Robert A. Hudson, Sr., a successful businessman from Portland. Hudson is renowned in the golf world as the savior of the Ryder Cup matches after resurrecting it just two years removed from World War II. Because of Hudson's generosity, the Ryder Cup was restored in 1947 at Portland Golf Club after Hudson came forward and covered most of the expenses of conducting the competition, including the cost of transporting the British team to the United States.
The first Hudson Cup matches were held at Portland Golf Club in 1949. 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 12.5 to 2.5 victory. When Hudson learned of the matches, he immediately insisted on footing the bill, and continued to do so through 1972. Today, the Pacific Northwest Section PGA is assisted by funds contributed by the Washington State Golf Association, the Oregon Golf Association and the Pacific Northwest Golf Association.
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, with a total of 20 points available. In 1992, the Senior Hudson Cup matches were added.
Click here for more information on the history of the Hudson Cup, including past results.
Founded in 1922, the WSGA is a 501c4 non-profit, amateur golf association governed by men and women volunteers. Serving over 68,000 individual members at more than 550 member golf clubs and 270 golf courses throughout the state of Washington and Northern Idaho, the WSGA works to continually expand the game of golf to people of all backgrounds.
The WSGA also serves as a statewide representative of the United States Golf Association (USGA) and works closely with a number of allied associations within the golf industry for the betterment of the game.
