Naval Academy graduate set for Melwood
Equipped with an economics degree from the Naval Academy and five years of experience as a naval officer, Billy Hurley III could command a six-figure salary. But Hurley isn’t ready for an office overlooking the Beltway just yet.
There’s some unfinished business in his current occupation of choice — professional golf.
| Prince George’s County Open |
| When » June 2-5 |
| Where » University of Maryland Golf Course |
| TV » Golf Channel |
Next month when the Leesburg native plays in the Nationwide Tour’s Prince George’s County Open, he will attempt to jump-start a career delayed by his five-year commitment to the service.
“I’m 28, but in golf years I feel like I’m more like 24,” Hurley said. “I’m just getting a chance now to do this full time.”
In his senior year at Navy, Hurley won six tournaments and captured the Byron Nelson Award as the nation’s best college player. But in the succeeding years, while fellow 2004 NCAA All-Americans Camilo Villegas, Bill Haas, J.B. Holmes and Ryan Moore were establishing themselves on the PGA Tour, Hurley was serving his country.
“The guys who are out there, they’ve never really had any time away from golf,” Hurley said last week after a practice round at the University of Maryland Golf Course. “As far as the guys [on the Nationwide Tour], I don’t feel like there’s any difference skill-wise between them and me. They’ve just been doing it longer.”
During a two-year stint as an instructor in Annapolis, Hurley was able to play enough to turn pro and compete in several PGA and Nationwide tour events. But most of his final two years were spent at sea. In that time, he played a total of five rounds.
After failing to make the final stage of PGA Tour Qualifying School in 2009, Hurley played poorly in his first few events on the Hooters and EGolf tours. With a wife and two young sons at home in Annapolis, Hurley wondered if he had a future in golf.
“I was struggling with, ‘Is this ever going to come back. Am I ever going to be able to compete at the level you have to,’” Hurley said.
But in March of last year, two weeks after missing the cut in two satellite tour events, Hurley won the Hooters Tour’s Terry Moore Ford Open, collecting a check for $40,000. The victory sparked Hurley to a solid year as he won more than $85,000. Last fall, Hurley made it to the final stage of Q-School.
In addition to his physical resemblance to Luke Donald (both have blond hair and compact builds), the 5-foot-11 Hurley has a similar game to the PGA Tour star. He hits it short and straight and depends on solid work around the greens.
With “conditional status” this year on the Nationwide Tour, much depends on his performance. If he makes the cut and earns a paycheck this week at the BMW Charity Pro-Am in South Carolina, for example, he moves up the priority list, increasing his chance to play more events. If he misses the cut, he will slip a few notches in the pecking order.
Sure it’s pressure, but Hurley has dealt with more, guarding oil platforms in the Persian Gulf aboard the destroyer USS Chung-Hoon.
“This is what I’ve been working toward, even when we were out to sea,” Hurley said. “Right now we’re golf, full speed ahead.”
