Samuel Ryder

Samuel Ryder and Robert Hudson

This website highlights the two rich businessmen who were mostly responsible for sponsoring the iconic Ryder Cup matches which have provided the greatest team event in golf. Biographies of both men, written by Peter Fry, are now available through the website.

First there is the founder of the Ryder Cup matches, Samuel Ryder. With his business as a seed merchant, he became quite rich, started an enthusiastic interest in golf and its professionals and proceeded to sponsor leading professional tournaments. This led to him nurturing an idea to match the best professional golfers of Great Britain against their American counterparts to encourage goodwill and best sporting endeavour between the two countries. Samuel put up a cup, made by Mappin & Webb and valued at £500, for these international matches which started at Worcester, Massachusetts, USA in 1927.

The second individual was Robert Hudson from Portland, Oregon, USA. He made his fortune as the American Northwest’s most successful wholesale grocer. He also became hooked on golf and befriended the golf professionals. Hudson sponsored various golf events at his beloved Portland Golf Club which included the 1946 US PGA Championship. However, his crowning glory was his resurrection of the Ryder Cup matches after the conflict of World War II when money was desperately short. The result was the staging of the 1947 Ryder Cup matches at Portland Golf Club, courtesy of his generous benevolence.