Mitch Rutledge ‘12

Athlete - Golf

Mitch Rutledge ‘12 dominated Whitfield golf for four years. 
Mitch is a four-time all-state golfer. He led Whitfield to the Class 2 State Championship three times: as a sophomore, junior, and senior. He won the Class 2 State individual title as a junior and senior. He finished second as a freshman and fifth as a sophomore at the Class 2 championship. He is a three-time district champion. Further, Mitch is Whitfield’s career medalist leader with 24, winning 11 tournaments. He is not only the school’s career scoring leader (37.14 average), he is the single-season scoring leader (36.10 average). He holds the 9-hole scoring record of 33, which he achieved multiple times, and the 18-hole scoring record of 67, earned at the 2011 Sectional Tournament. In addition, Mitch was the 2012 St. Louis Metro Player of the Year, three-time All-Metro selection, senior year captain, and earned the Ginger Newton Jacobi ‘73 Male Athlete of the Year award as a senior. He was also named a St. Louis Post Dispatch Straight A Student in both his junior and senior years. 

In addition, Mitch won the 2011 Missouri Junior Match Play Championship and qualified and played in the Junior PGA Championship at Sycamore Hills Country Club in 2010 and 2011. In 2011, he advanced to make the cut after three rounds, which was comprised of the top 30 golfers and ties. Mitch finished the national tournament placing 28th, joining a leaderboard of current PGA tour players including Scottie Scheffler, Will Zalatoris, Taylor Moore, and Grayson Murray.

Mitch went on to play golf at Michigan State, where he earned a half-golf, half-academic scholarship that gave him a full ride to the University. 

He played in the 2012 and 2013 United States Golf Association (USGA) public links tournaments, advancing to match play and reaching the final 16 in both events. He also qualified for and played in the 2013 USGA United States Amateur Golf Tournament, which was held at the Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts. 

As a freshman, Mitch played in all 12 events in his initial campaign, finishing third on the team with a 75.7 scoring average. He posted three top-20 finishes. He went 1-3 at the Big Ten Match Play Championship as MSU, placed second, and was the third-best Spartan at the Big Ten Championship, finishing 42nd with a 308 (78-79-73-78).

In his sophomore year, Mitch was one of only two Spartans to compete in all 12 events. He led the team in scoring average (74.62), birdies (80), pars (376), top-10 finishes (3) and top-20 finishes (5). Further, he was the top Spartan in five of the 11-stroke play events. His round of 66 at the Wolverine Intercollegiate tie for the sixth-lowest 18-hole score in MSU history, while his 210 is tied for the 20th-best 54-hole total. Mitch went 2-1 in the No. 1 spot at the Big Ten Match Play Championship and ended the season with a top-10 placement at the Big Ten Championship, leading the Spartans with a tie for seventh place with a 299 (76-72-75-76).

In his junior year, Mitch was one of four Spartans to compete in all 12 events, posting a 74.00 scoring average and ending the season with three top-20 finishes. He tied for 12th at the Quail Valley Intercollegiate with a season-low 212 (75-69-68), which was the lowest 54-holes for MSU all season. He went 2-1-1 at the Big Ten Match Play Championship, and was part of the Spartan lineup at the Big Ten Championship, finishing t-29th with a 300 (76-73-76-75). He was named to the Big Ten Men's Golfer to Watch List for the 2014-15 season for his junior year.

In his senior year, Mitch competed in all 12 events, winning the team low-scoring average award with a 73.21 scoring average and ending the season with three top-5 finishes. His signature event was his sole collegiate victory at the Inverness Intercollegiate with scores of 75, 70, and 66, beating current PGA Tour players Colin Morikawa and Lee Hodges. He rounded out the fall season with a 2nd place finish at the Fossum Memorial at Point of Woods Golf Club shooting 70, 69, and a career-low score final round of 65, which is tied for all time on the school scoring record. In the spring, Rutledge led the team to their first NCAA tournament appearance in eight years and finished in the top 10 at the Big Ten Tournament. 

Mitch is the first player in Michigan State school history to play and qualify for every single event over his four years of eligibility. Mitch is currently 16th on the Michigan State career scoring list (74.35) and owns the 5th-lowest 18-hole (65) and 6th-lowest 54-hole (204) scores in program history. He had two, top 10 finishes in the Big Ten Tournament, finishing 7th in his sophomore year and 10th in his senior year. In addition, he was named to the All Big Ten Conference Team in 2016 and Ping All Midwest Regions Team. After graduating, Rutledge won the 2016 Fort Wayne City Championship at Brookwood with a three-round score of -12.

Mitch was a professional golfer from June 2019 through October 2020 based out of St. Louis. He competed in Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying School for the first time and tied for 5th at the first stage. He also competed on the West Florida Golf Tour and Florida Professional Golf Tour. Mitch accumulated three Top 10 finishes on the West Florida Golf Tour and three Top Ten finishes on the Florida Professional Golf Tour in 2019-2020. In total, he accumulated 12  Top 25 finishes as a professional.

After attempting to qualify for the Korn Ferry Tour, the Covid-19 pandemic closed the majority of major professional golf tours in March of 2020. In October of 2020, Mitch began a career as a Mortgage Loan Originator and has been employed at U.S. Bank since July of 2021. Mitch currently lives in St. Louis with his fiancee, Meghan, whom he will marry on May 10, 2025.