Jim Dent will join some exclusive Augusta company when he goes into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame tonight.

The pro golfer will be just the eighth Augusta native enshrined in the Macon, Ga., Hall.

He'll join 1987 Masters Tour-nament champion Larry Mize as the only Augusta-born golfers in the Hall.

"It's a big deal for me," said the 68-year-old Dent, who attended Laney High and Paine College before turning pro.

Dent, who played in 403 PGA Tour events with only moderate success, made his name on the Champions Tour. Since turning 50 in 1989, he has won 12 times and earned nearly $9 million.

Dent, who is still active on the senior circuit, is excited about joining two other men with Laney connections - Emerson Boozer and John Tutt - in the Hall.

Boozer, who was in the same class with Dent at Laney, went on to play for the 1969 New York Jets team that upset the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III. Tutt coached at Haines Institute in Augusta and then Laney.

Dent is one of nine 2008 inductees out of 200 nominees whose careers were reviewed by more than 50 people on various committees.

In all, there will be 361 members of the Hall after Dent and Co. are formally inducted tonight at Cobb Galleria Centre in Atlanta. On Friday, Dent and the other inductees were in Macon to visit the Hall of Fame's museum and view their exhibit cases.

"Yessiree, it's an honor to be in there with all these great guys from Georgia," Dent said.

This is the second Hall of Fame for Dent. He went into Georgia Golf Hall of Fame in 1994.

"Both are great and fun," Dent said. "I'm proud to be in both of them. I don't rate one over the other."

Dent was informed two months ago that he'd be among the Class of 2008 inductees.

"I never thought about it; it came as a surprise," Dent said. "This is the right time. Anytime you go into a Hall of Fame, it's the right time."

Dent lives in Odessa, Fla., with his wife and their three children, but hasn't lost touch with Augusta. He still owns a house here, and visits "about 10 times" a year to see relatives and friends.

"I might be up there next week," Dent said.

The last of Dent's 12 Champ-ions Tour victories came in 1998, and his last top-10 finish was in 2004. In 2007, he had one top-25 finish in 19 starts and earned $80,316, which ranked 91st on the money list.

He thinks he can still win.

"I'm working on some things with my man, (instructor) Jimmy Ballard," Dent said.

He plans to play "15 or 20" events this year, then cut back his schedule next year.

Reach David Westin at (706) 724-0851or david.westin@augustachronicle.com.