At No. 25 on the Nationwide Tour money list, former Naval Academy standout Billy Hurley III is squarely on the cut line as he attempts to qualify for the PGA Tour. At the final event, the 60-player Nationwide Tour Championship at Daniel Island in Charleston, S.C., Hurley needs a solid showing to remain in the top 25 and secure his PGA Tour playing privileges for the first time.
When asked what it would take to hold his spot, Hurley laughed, suggesting he didn’t want to think about sweating out Sunday, watching the scoreboard and calculating the money-list implications.
“I think certainly with a top 10 it wouldn’t matter where anybody else finishes,” the 29-year-old said.
When he was last seen in the D.C. area, Hurley was struggling in his first season on the Nationwide Tour after completing his military service commitment. He missed the cut in five of his first six events, including the Prince George’s County Open. But since then, Hurley has cashed checks in 11 of 13 events, including four finishes in the top six. He has earned $167,151 this year.
“I started working on the mental side of golf, believing in myself a little more,” Hurley said. “I had all the pieces. They just weren’t showing up at the same time.”
The spark for the turnaround came in a phone discussion with swing coach Mitchell Spearman.
“He said ‘Bill, you’re too good to be shooting scores like this,’?” Hurley recalled. “That sort of kicked me in the butt a little bit.”
Reading Bob Rotella books and working with sports psychologist David Cook also has helped bring out the best in Hurley, a 2005 Walker Cup player.
– Kevin Dunleavy
