The Portland Open Invitational was a professional

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

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—each sep ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

on the

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also k ...

, played in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

. 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. He ...

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 Beaverto ...

, and four times at the

Columbia Edgewater Country Club Columbia Edgewater Country Club is a private golf course in the northwest United States, located in Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1924 it has hosted numerous tour events on the PGA Tour and LPGA Tour. It is located immediately west of the Portland ...

.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 Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

centennial {{other uses, Centennial (disambiguation), Centenary (disambiguation) A centennial, or centenary in British English, is a 100th anniversary or otherwise relates to a century, a period of 100 years. Notable events Notable centennial events at a ...

of statehood.

Sam Snead Samuel Jackson Snead (pronounced English_phonology">sni:d.html" ;"title="English_phonology.html" ;"title="nowiki/>English phonology">sni:d">English_phonology.html" ;"title="nowiki/>English phonology">sni:d May 27, 1912 – May 23, 2002) was 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 and ...

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 & 4 over Ed Oliver in the final; the winner's share was $3,500 and the run ...

, then a match play 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. The competition is contested every two years with the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe. The Ryder Cup is named af ...

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 in ...

; 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 (1959–61) and

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

(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 The World Series of Golf was a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour, played at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio. From its inception in 1962 through 1975, it was an unofficial 36-hole event matching the winners of the four major champi ...

in Ohio, and then won his second tour title at the

Seattle Open Invitational The Seattle Open Invitational was a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour in the northwest United States, in the greater Seattle area. It was played eight times over three decades under five names at three locations. History The first Se ...

, 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. Biography 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 had only 99 at the

Tournament Players Championship The Players Championship (commonly known as simply The Players, stylized by the PGA Tour as The PLAYERS Championship) is an annual golf tournament on the PGA Tour. Originally known as the Tournament Players Championship, it began in 1974. The Pl ...

1977 Events January * January 8 – 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 (now the Democratic R ...

, 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 in Oregon Sports in Portland, Oregon Sports competitions in 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