77th Hudson Cup and 34th Senior Hudson Cup to be held at Willamette Valley

By WA Golf Site Admin

Posted on Sep 30, 2025

Willamette Valley CC

Tacoma, Wash. – The 77th edition of the Hudson Cup will be held October 16-17 at Willamette Valley Country Club in Canby, Ore. 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. Concurrently, Willamette Valley will also host the 34th Senior Hudson Cup, matching up the top 10 Pacific Northwest Section PGA senior members against the top 10 senior amateurs from Washington and Oregon.

The Oregon Golf Association (OGA) and Washington Golf (WA Golf) collaboratively 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 WA Golf. Amateur team members are selected based on season-long performance points earned through each respective Association.

The Pacific Northwest Section PGA also selects its professional team members based on performance points earned throughout the season.

Championship Links

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 WA Golf.

This year, the Amateurs in the Hudson Cup will be captained by Scott Baines of Portland, Ore., who plays out of Pumpkin Ridge Golf Course in North Plains; and the PGA Professionals will be captained by Rob Gibbons of Molalla Ore., the PGA Professional at Arrowhead GC.

Baines is a director on the OGA Executive Committee. Since 2003, he has served as president of the Oregon Junior Golf Foundation.

Gibbons previously played Hudson Cup Matches in 1986-89, 1991, 1997-2003, 2005, 2008-2011, 2016 and 2017, as well as in the Senior Hudson Cup Matches in 2013-2015, 2018-2024. He co-captained the Senior Professional team in 2010.

In the Senior Hudson Cup, the senior Amateurs will be captained by Jim Gibbons of Charbonneau Golf Club in Wilsonville, Ore.; and the senior PGA Professionals will be captained by Ted Westling of Milwaukie, Ore.

Gibbons (no relation to Rob) is a former executive director of the OGA, serving in that role from 1994-2007. He is a longtime competitor in regional events and USGA Qualifiers and was medalist at the 1998 U.S. Senior Amateur.

Westling, whose golf career spans over 60 years, previously played in Senior Hudson Cup Matches in 2004, 2005, 2008 and 2010. He is very local to the Willamette area, having played college golf at Clackamas Community College.

In the previous 76 Hudson Cup matches, the professionals have won 59, while the amateurs have won nine. Eight of the matches were tied, including the 2024 edition. 

In the Senior Hudson Cup, the senior professionals have won 23 matches, the senior amateurs have won eight, and there have been two ties.

History of the Hudson Cup 

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 Washington Golf, 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.

About Washington Golf

Founded in 1922, WA Golf is a 501c4 non-profit amateur golf association governed by men and women volunteers that has grown into one of the largest golf associations in the United States, providing a multitude of member benefits and services to more than 103,000 golfers, 520 member clubs, and 260 golf facilities throughout Washington and Northern Idaho. WA Golf also serves as the statewide representative of the United States Golf Association and works closely with a number of allied associations within the golf industry for the betterment of the game. Visit wagolf.org for more information.