By Chris Richards
Media Relations Coordinator

When the Rolex Junior Player of the Year is your ultimate goal and end destination, life on the road is the only way to get home.

Vicky Hurst’s road to the 2007 Girls Rolex Junior Player of the Year included 16 golf tournaments – eight AJGA events, three USGA events, two LPGA events, and three other national amateur events.

Rolex Junior Player of the Year Vicky Hurst

In all, Hurst competed in 12 states and Sweden during the 2007 season. A high school senior and native of Melbourne, Fla., Hurst competed in her home state three times, while also traveling to Georgia, South Carolina, Arizona, Colorado, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washington, Oklahoma, Tennessee, North Carolina and Indiana.

“Playing in all these national tournaments, you play all different courses and it’s given me a lot of experience playing these courses against different players,” Hurst said. “I feel more confident playing in tournaments because of these experiences.”

And her success is not limited to one type of event or a specific region. In addition to three victories in stroke play events, Hurst demonstrated her match play prowess this year, compiling a 2-2-0 record as a member of the Canon Cup East Team, and a 2-1-0 record at the PING Junior Solheim Cup in Sweden.

On paper, her schedule may not look simple, but Hurst will tell you that the focus is the same regardless of who, what, when or where she’s playing.

“I just try to play my best every day and not make any excuses for a bad round,” Hurst said. “Everyone has bad rounds, so I just try to play consistent and shoot the best I can no matter what the conditions are.”

Hurst, a two-time first-team Rolex Junior All-American, opened the season with top-10 finishes in four of her first five events, including a second-place finish at the Thunderbird International Junior and her second consecutive win at the Birks & Mayors Junior Championship at Mirasol.

In July, Hurst played in five tournaments in four states. Despite the traveling and constant competition, she did more than just survive her schedule.

She started the month in Columbus, Ohio, at the Rolex Tournament of Champions where she finished tied for second, then followed with a fourth-place finish at the Westfield PGA Junior Championship in Westfield, Ohio. One week later, Hurst earned her first AJGA Invitational crown at the McDonald’s Betsy Rawls Girls Championship in Malvern, Pa.

“I had so many second-place finishes last year and beginning this year, so when I finally got it at Betsy Rawls this year it felt pretty good,” Hurst said. “I gained more confidence going into the rest of my tournaments this summer.”

Vicky cheers on her teammates during the 2007 PING Junior Solheim Cup

Hurst carried that confidence to Lakewood, Wash., for the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship, but fell short of the stroke play cut and did not qualify for match play. She finished the month in Ooltewah, Tenn., at Canon Cup, where she made her second appearance as a member of the East Team.

“The Women’s Amateur is a tough tournament because of the format, but because you play AJGA tournaments all week, every week in the summer time, the AJGA prepares you for anything,” Hurst said.

Entering the season-ending PING Invitational, the playing résumés of Hurst and Kimberly Kim looked indistinguishable. Hurst and Kim had each won an AJGA Invitational in 2007, and each finished second three times in national junior golf tournaments.

Still needing one more victory to strengthen her Rolex Junior Player of the Year candidacy, Hurst had one goal in mind heading to Stillwater, Okla.

“I didn’t play in the PING Invitational last year and everyone else did, so I just wanted to go in, play my best, be tough and try to win,” Hurst said. “I tried to play it like any other tournament and paid attention to my practice round harder to try to get a feel for the course earlier.”

Even though she was playing Karsten Creek for the first time in her career, Hurst carded a 73-69-76 – 218 total to capture her second Invitational crown of the season and a five-shot victory over Kimberly Kim. It was the final achievement in her quest for Rolex Junior Player of the Year honors.

“The PING Invitational secured it, but all the tournaments I played in were just getting to the next step and working hard to get points,” Hurst said. “It’s incredible, there’s nothing else really to say.”

After a season on the road, Hurst will return to Florida to begin the 2008 season at the Ginn Reunion Resort for the Polo Golf Junior Classic, Nov. 17-23.

Welcome home, Vicky.