The Booz Allen Classic might be headed for extinction, but it could launch Billy Hurley’s career.
The Navy ensign currently teaching economics at the U.S. Naval Academy gains his fourth sponsor exemption on the PGA and Nationwide tours in the June 19-25 tournament at TPCat Avenel. Two recent missed cuts after finishing 43rd in the Bay Hill Invitational means a good finish is needed to impress Navy officials deciding his career path.
Hurley might be deployed after his current year of teaching or he could play pro golf full-time and fulfill his military commitment in the reserves. The better Hurley plays, the easier the decision might be. And yet, he has no idea where promising golf and military careers are heading.
“It’s two different lives, that’s for sure,” Hurley said. “Golf’s all on the side right now, but the potential benefit is to make me a one-man recruiting tool.”
Hurley, 23, was a four-time All-Patriot League selection and 2004 PING Honorable Mention All-American. The 2004 Byron Nelson Award winner was captain of the 2004 Palmer Cup team, a 2005 Walker Cup member and the first player to represent a service academy in the Ryder Cup.
After graduating from Annapolis in May 2004, Hurley spent six months as a surface warfare officer aboard USS Gettysburg before returning to teach at Navy in May 2005. Golf was limited to sporadic weekends in Florida ports.
There is a part of Hurley that still wishes he were with former classmates serving abroad. It’s not easy to shake the tightness of the Midshipmen.
“All my friends just got back from deployment,” he said. “There’s a sense of missing out with them. Not going somewhere getting shot at is not a bad thing, but there’s a sense of camaraderie that can’t be missed, especially when deployed. There’s a sense of togetherness.”
But Hurley also enjoys being among the waves of green on the fairways. Arnold Palmer, a former Coast Guard member, invited Hurley to play in the Bay Hills. The pair played a round together beforehand, which Hurley admitted to wanting to “hit that first tee shot well.”
The first pro event was a little more intimidating, though. Hurley earned $18,700 after posting a 1-under for the tournament.
“When I got there it didn’t feel a whole lot different,” he said. “It hit me — I’m in a professional event and do this for real. It got a little scary, but I got to the golf course and started what I done 1,000 times.
“It was more nerve wracking trying to make the cut. The first day you’re trying to set yourself up. I was cruising alone well and had a tough stretch of holes in the middle of the round and then fought back to even par. . . . I walked away a little upset I didn’t play better [for the tournament], but looking back I’m fairly satisfied.”
Hurley later missed the Byron Nelson cut by four strokes and the Henrico County Open by two. He’ll also play in the John Deere Open on July 13-16. The galleries have always backed Hurley, who has a Navy golf bag to alert military fans.
“There were a lot of really supportive people there for me,” he said.
Rick Snider has covered local sports for 28 years. Contact him at rsnider@dcexaminer.
