Worthy inductees

R.B. (Bud) Hughes helped found the Thunder Bay District Golf Association. Tony Stokaluk went on to win just about anything the organization had to offer.

The duo are the latest pair of inductees into the TBDGA hall of fame, announced Saturday at the annual champion of champions luncheon.

Stokaluk, a five-time major champion who captured the 1966 District Junior Open, the 1991 Strathcona Invitational, the District Amateur  in three different decades, the 1991 District Open and 21 club championships over 39 years, said he feels privileged to have been selected.

“I was astounded. I never thought about this. I was sort of thinking about who else was going to be involved in this and I never considered myself eligible,” said Stokaluk, 61, who essentially got an early induction as it hasn’t been five years since his final victory, an induction criteria.

“I came from a very large golfing family. We all golfed. Some of us have won tournaments, some of us lost tournaments. And I’m proud to be behind my cousin Donnie (Stokaluk) in this hall of fame.”

He’s also the only man to win the Strathcona Invitational in three separate divisions.

“That’s a pretty proud moment for me,” he said.

“But the most important is the Stokaluk Shootout. Every player in this room today is going to go out and try to qualify for points for that, and I’m proud of that.”

Hughes, who died in 1997, was a fundamental force in making the TBDGA what it is today, said hall of fame chairman Barry Caland.

A former president of the organization, Hughes served on the executive for 26 years and was named a lifetime governor of the Ontario Golf Association.

”In the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s Bud Hughes was the name as far as organization and building the sport around here,” Caland said. “In everybody’s eyes, he was absolutely in, it was just a matter of doing it. He’s got a phenomenal volunteer history and nobody would deny that he deserved to be in.”

Son Dave Hughes said the family truly appreciates the recognition Bud Hughes earned with his entry into the hall.

“My father, when we were growing up, was totally involved with golf and the Thunder Bay District Golf Association. He spent eons of time and if he wasn’t working or involved with our family ourselves, he was basically involved in golf or golf-related events,” Dave Hughes said, clutching the induction plaque.

“This is a culmination of all his inputs into (the sport) and of all of the other people that basically made golf happen in the Thunder Bay District. It really is an award or recognition of all the time and effort he did put into golf.”

Hughes’s legacy lives on, with his name attached to the Champion of Champion trophy. On Saturday Jamie Depiero captured the 2011 title, shooting 69 at Chapples Golf Club to win the one-day event by one over Joe Scharf and three over defending champion Caland.

Ken Hanley won the senior division with a 79, beating Stokaluk in a one-hole playoff, while Brett Shewchuk took the junior division with a 73.