Jim Rutledge was mowing his lawn in Victoria when Ted Fletcher, chair of the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame's selection committee, gave him a call.
Rutledge and reporter Robert Stanley Weir would be the next inductees into the hall, becoming the 84th and 85th honoured members. The 63-year-old Rutledge has competed at every level of men's golf around the world, but he was still floored when Fletcher told him the good news.
"I stopped the lawn mower, sat down on it for a second and said 'hey wait a second, what's going on?'" said the 63-year-old Rutledge on Monday. "I tried to compare it to some little kid that was playing a little bit too shallow in left field playing baseball and some guy hit a line drive over his head.
"It just caught me right off guard. It took a while to absorb the whole proceedings. At the end of the day I was overwhelmed by it."
The Class of 2023's induction ceremony will be held on June 6, during the week of the RBC Canadian Open. Oakdale Golf & Country Club will host the Canadian national men's championship, the only PGA Tour stop in the country.
Rutledge, born in Victoria, was a celebrated junior and amateur golfer in British Columbia before winning the 1975 Canadian Juvenile Championship and the 1977 Canadian Junior Championship before turning professional in 1978.
He was a member of the European Tour (now DP World Tour) in 1990 where he finished a career-high 55th in the Order of Merit. He also competed in the 1990 and 1991 British Open. He made the cut in 1990 and tied for 57th. Rutledge was also a member of the Nationwide Tour (now Korn Ferry Tour) from 2001-2009. He won his first event on that Tour in 2006 and finished 14th on the money list, which earned him PGA Tour status for 2007.
With that, he became the second-oldest rookie in PGA Tour history when he teed it up that season. Rutledge has made several appearances on the Champions Tour after turning 50 and had represented Canada at the World Cup three times and the Dunhill Cup twice.
Rutledge said that the joy of playing is what has kept him out on the course for 40 years.
"Longevity is the love of the game, I think, and enjoying the travelling," he said. "Trying to stay in decent shape to do it, I think is very, very important."
Weir, who was born in Hamilton in 1856 and died in 1926, will be inducted as a builder for his over two decades of writing on golf. Weir, considered by many to be Canada’s first golf writer, is most famous for writing the English lyrics to "O Canada."
"It's a tribute to journalism and the importance that journalists play in the game of golf," said Fletcher of Weir's posthumous induction. "It's so important that there be a voice in the game.
"Mr. Weir was the voice for over two decades at a very important time in the growth of the game. It's great to have him as an honoured member."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 13, 2023.
John Chidley-Hill, The Canadian Press
