Stuart Anderson first to join class of 2011

April 1, 2011 – Fort McMurray, AB) The Wood Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame Society is proud to announce the induction of Stuart Anderson as one of four inductees into the Class of 2011.

Born in Calgary in 1978, Anderson moved to Fort McMurray at the age of three. The son of a golf fanatic, Anderson picked up a club for the first time at eight, just three years later he won his first junior tournament at the Links of Spruce Grove Golf Course.

Anderson continued to fine tune his game on the fairways and greens of the Miskanaw Golf Club and even had a helping hand in the construction of the Fort McMurray Golf Club.

His dreams of becoming a professional hockey player were dashed in the middle of his Grade 10 year at Westwood High School, when his family moved to Arizona. It was in the Grand Canyon State where Anderson helped lead the Red Mountain High School Golf Team to a 5A State Championship in 1996.

Two years later Anderson received a full scholarship to Illinois State University where he won three NCAA tournaments before graduating in 2000.

Anderson made his professional golf debut in 2001 on the Canadian Golf Tour, shooting rounds of 76-75 to miss the cut at the Myrtle Beach Open. Four tournaments later and Anderson was cashing his first cheque, winning $300.00 for a 71st place finish at the Telus Edmonton Open.

Anderson captured his first Canadian Tour title in April of 2005, finishing -17 at the Foster Farms California Classic and taking home a cheque worth $24,000. The following year he was victorious at the Canadian Tour Championship, winning $25,600. His last and most lucrative victory came at the 2009 Desjardins Montreal Open, where he shot a -21 to earn $32,000.

Anderson considers 2009 the highlight of his career so far, as on top of winning on tour, he qualified for the PGA Tour’s RBC Canadian Open, barely missing the cut and along with Graham DaLaet, represented Canada at the World Cup of Golf, finishing 25th.

The closest he’s come to earning his PGA Tour card came two years earlier when he missed out on the final stage of Qualifying School by just two strokes.

Anderson says this summer will certainly be a memorable one, as in June he will be inducted into the Hall of Fame just a week before teeing it up in the inaugural Syncrude Boreal Open at the Fort McMurray Golf Club, “It’s going to be really special for me. When I was a kid and those professionals came up I caddied both years and it just widened my eyes to something more and hopefully I can open some kids eyes up in Fort McMurray seeing that they can do it as well.”

Anderson, now 33, currently resides in Sooke, BC with his family.

The Wood Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame will honour Anderson, and three other inductees to be named later, at the Fifth Annual Induction Dinner June 15, 2011 at the Sawridge Inn and Conference Centre. The event will feature guest speaker NHL legend Lanny McDonald.

For tickets call 780-381-1213 .

The Wood Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame is located inside the Syncrude Sport and Wellness Centre in Fort McMurray, Alberta