The Portland Open Invitational was a professional

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

tournament in the

northwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A '' compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west— ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

on the

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champion ...

, played in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

. Established by

Robert A. Hudson Robert Angelo Hudson (July 27, 1887September 4, 1974) was a grocery industry executive and golf enthusiast based in Portland, Oregon. He is remembered for sponsoring the 1947 Ryder Cup. Early life and legacy Hudson was born in 1887 in Portland. H ...

with a $10,000 purse in 1944, it was played from 1944 to 1948 and again from 1959 to 1966. The event was hosted eight times at the

Portland Golf Club The Portland Golf Club is a private golf club in the northwest United States, in suburban Portland, Oregon. It is located in the unincorporated Raleigh Hills area of eastern Washington County, southwest of downtown Portland and east of Beaver ...

, and four times at the Columbia Edgewater Country Club.Tradition finds new home, title sponsor
First played as the Portland Open, the revived 1959 event played as the Portland Centennial Open Invitational, in honor of

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

centennial A centennial, or centenary in British English, is a 100th anniversary or otherwise relates to a century. Notable events Notable centennial events at a national or world-level include: * Centennial Exhibition, 1876, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ...

of statehood.

Sam Snead Samuel Jackson Snead (; May 27, 1912 – May 23, 2002) was an American professional golfer who was one of the top players in the world for the better part of four decades (having won PGA of America and Senior PGA Tour events over six decades) an ...

won the inaugural event in 1944, and

Ben Hogan William Ben Hogan (August 13, 1912 – July 25, 1997) was an American professional golfer who is generally considered to be one of the greatest players in the history of the game. He is notable for his profound influence on golf swing theory, hi ...

won in 1945 by fourteen strokes, and also won the

1946 PGA Championship The 1946 PGA Championship was the 28th PGA Championship, held August 19–25 at Portland Golf Club outside Portland, Oregon. Ben Hogan won the match play championship, 6 and 4 over Ed Oliver in the final; the winner's share was $3,500 and the ...

, then a

match play Match play is a scoring system for golf in which a player, or team, earns a point for each hole in which they have bested their opponents; as opposed to stroke play, in which the total number of strokes is counted over one or more rounds of 18 h ...

event, held at the Portland Golf Club. The club also hosted the

Ryder Cup The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States, with hosting duties alternating between venues in Europe and the United States for each edition. The cup is named after the English businessman S ...

1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country i ...

; the U.S. team was captained by Hogan and won 11–1. Hogan was a runner-up in 1948, a stroke back in an 18-hole playoff. The tournament was dominated by three-time winners

Billy Casper William Earl Casper Jr. (June 24, 1931 – February 7, 2015) was an American professional golfer. He was one of the most prolific tournament winners on the PGA Tour from the mid-1950s to the mid-1970s. In his youth, Casper started as a caddie a ...

(1959–61) and

Jack Nicklaus Jack William Nicklaus (; born January 21, 1940), nicknamed "the Golden Bear", is an American retired professional golfer and List of golf courses designed by Jack Nicklaus, golf course designer. He is widely considered to be one of the greate ...

(1962, 1964–65). Nicklaus' $3,500 win during his rookie season in 1962 concluded three weeks of victories; he took the massive winner's share of $50,000 in the exhibition World Series of Golf in Ohio, and then won his second tour title at the Seattle Open Invitational, which paid $4,300. Both Casper and Nicklaus won at both courses.

Bert Yancey Albert Winsborough Yancey (August 6, 1938 – August 26, 1994) was an American professional golfer who won seven times on the PGA Tour and later played on the Senior PGA Tour. Early life Born in Chipley, Florida, Yancey lived much of his adult ...

won the last edition in

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

and took only 102 putts. It stood as the tour's 72-hole record for fewest putts for over a decade, until

Bob Menne Robert Menne (February 19, 1942 – June 2, 2023) was an American professional golfer. He played on the PGA Tour, the Champions Tour, and the European Seniors Tour. Early life and amateur career Menne was born and raised in Gardner, Massach ...

had only 99 at the Tournament Players Championship in

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...

, but tied for 47th.

Tournament hosts

Winners

Playoffs

*1948: 18-hole Monday playoff: Haas 70 (−2), Hogan 71 (−1), Palmer 75 (+3). *1963: Knudson chipped in for eagle on the first playoff hole, a par-5, for the win; Rudolph nearly matched it, but his bounced out.

References

{{Sporting events in Portland, Oregon Former PGA Tour events Golf tournaments in Oregon Sports in Portland, Oregon Annual events in Portland, Oregon Recurring sporting events established in 1944 Recurring sporting events disestablished in 1966 1944 establishments in Oregon 1966 disestablishments in Oregon

Tournament hosts

Winners

Playoffs

See also

References