Jim Rutledge

Got started in golf at age 11 by a friend of the family. Was one of six players to tie for 12th at the 2009 Champions Tour National Qualifying tournament. Missed out on a conditional exemption when he made a par on the eighth playoff hole and Lu-Chien Soon made a birdie for the final spot. Played 19 events on the Web.Com Tour in 2009 and had four finishes in the top-25. Played on the Web.Com Tour from 2001-06 before earning a spot on the PGA Tour in 2007, where he made 23 starts and made five cuts. Was the second-oldest rookie in PGA Tour history, at 47 years, 4 months, 6 days, one month younger than Allen Doyle in 1996. Won the 2006 ING New Zealand PGA Championship on the Web.Com Tour, which helped him finish 14th on the money list and earn a berth on the PGA Tour in 2007. Returned to the Web.Com Tour in 2008. Long-time player on the Canadian Tour, with six wins on that circuit and finished 3rd on the order of merit three times. Two-time member of Canada's World Cup team. Has also toiled on the Asian Tour and the European Tour and claimed the 1995 Indian Open. Won the 1977 Canadian Junior championship as well as the 1975 Canadian Juvenile championship.
2011 Notes: Made 16 starts on the Champions Tour, open-qualifying four times. Was conditionally-exempt after finishing 9th at the 2010 Champions Tour National Qualifying Tournament at TPC Eagle Trace in November 2010. Was T8th with Marc Mouland, but Mouland earned the eighth position after making a birdie on the second playoff hole. Earned his way into the Allianz Championship, his first start of the year, via open qualifying and finished T6th at the Old Course at Broken Sound, his career-best Champions Tour effort. Monday-qualified again at the Dick's Sporting Goods Open and used a final-round 67 to finish T10th at En-Joie GC. At the Champions Tour National Qualifying Tournament in November, earned fully-exempt status for the 2012 season by virtue of his T2nd, along with Gary Hallberg, four strokes back of medalist Jeff Freeman.
2012 Notes: Made 20 starts best finish T13th at the Insperity Championship. FInished the year 49th on the money list with earnings of $279,434. At the end of the season, regained fully-exempt status by finishing T-4th at the Champions Tour National Qualifying Tournament.
2013 Notes: Played in 23 events, best finish was T-6th at the Senior PGA Championship thanks to a final round 64. That matched his best career finish on the Champions Tour. Had one other top-ten finish, T-9th at Toshiba Classic, there he shot a final round 62, a career best. After finishing 55th on the final money list, regained his fully-exempt status for 2014 by finishing T-2nd at the Champions Q-School. Started the final round outside the top 12, but his 7-under-par 65 matched the day's low round and allowed him to move up 11 places to his finishing position. It was the third consecutive year he has been among the top five at the Q-School. Went four extra holes in August to defeat fellow Champions Tour member Rod Spittle and win his third Mr. Lube PGA Seniors' Championship of Canada in the last four years.
2014 Notes: Slipped to 74th on the money list and was forced to return to Champions Q-School, where he came up just short in his bid to again regain fully exempt status. Rebounded from a second-round 75 to post a 68 in the final round. Charge on the last day still left him one shot outside the top five in the final standings. Earned the sixth spot, and first conditional position, when he made a birdie on the first playoff hole with John Riegger. Registered just one top-10 performance over 19 starts. Best effort came in his home country when he posted rounds of 69-68 on the weekend to finish T-10th at the Quebec Championship.