Vicky Hurst Bio
Vicky Hurst (born June 19, 1990) is an American professional golfer currently playing on the LPGA Tour. She turned professional as a 17-year-old in 2008, while still in high school, and quickly became one of the most talked-about young players in the women’s game. Her decision to forgo college set the stage for one of the most successful rookie seasons in Futures Tour history.
Over the course of her career, Hurst has combined prodigious length off the tee with the poise of a player who grew up inside tournament ropes. She represents equipment and apparel partners Callaway Golf and Under Armour, and she continues to compete at the highest level of women’s professional golf.
Early Life and Background
Hurst was born on June 19, 1990, at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, in a family with deep ties to the game. According to family accounts, her mother Koko, a native of Korea, was completing a round of golf at Andrews AFB near Washington, D.C., when her water broke on the 16th hole. Although Koko was winning the round, she left to give birth to Vicky at the base medical center. Vicky’s father, Joe Hurst, met Koko while he was stationed in Korea in the 1980s and was a retired Air Force colonel.
The family’s connection to the sport shaped Vicky’s earliest years. Joe died suddenly of a massive stroke in April 2006, when Vicky was 15 and practicing for the LPGA Ginn Open, a tournament she had reached via a sponsor exemption. She withdrew from that event and pledged to dedicate the rest of her career to his memory. Hurst was raised in Melbourne, Florida, and attended Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy, where she graduated in June 2008, partway through her rookie season on the Futures Tour.
Path to Professional Golf
Hurst built a standout amateur record before turning professional. In 2005, she won the Florida Women’s State Golf Association Junior Girls’ Championship, was named the FWSGA Junior Player of the Year, and finished second at the Florida high school girls’ golf championship. The following year, she was runner-up at the U.S. Girls’ Junior, tied for second at the FWSGA Junior Girls’ Championship, and played in the U.S. Women’s Open, less than two weeks after turning 16.
She was named Florida Junior Player of the Year in both 2006 and 2007 and qualified again for the U.S. Women’s Open in 2007. That year, she won three American Junior Golf Association events and earned spots on the 2007 U.S. PING Junior Solheim Cup Team and Canon Cup, representing the East Team. She ended 2007 as the top-ranked amateur in the Polo Golf Rankings and was named the 2007 AJGA Player of the Year.
In the fall of 2007, at the start of her senior year of high school, Hurst weighed a college golf career, for which she was heavily recruited, against turning professional. She won the Futures Tour qualifying school in November and announced in December that she would skip college and join the Futures Tour in 2008, while completing high school at the same time.
Vicky Hurst Career
Early Career (2008)
Hurst competed full-time on the Futures Tour in 2008 and won five times, setting a Tour record for single season earnings with $93,107. Her dominant rookie campaign earned her the Futures Tour Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year awards. She also received sponsor exemptions to three LPGA Tour events that season, missing the cut in two of them and finishing tied for 21st in the third.
Her success on the Futures Tour automatically qualified her for full playing status on the LPGA Tour for the 2009 season. By the end of her rookie year on the bigger stage, she had already established a reputation as one of the longest hitters in the women’s game.
LPGA Tour Breakthrough (2009-Present)
Hurst’s first tournament as an LPGA member was the 2009 season-opening SBS Open at Turtle Bay, where she finished tied for 15th and led the field in driving distance. She finished her rookie year leading the LPGA Tour in driving distance with an average of 272.5 yards, an unusual distinction for a teenager in her first season.
Since that debut, Hurst has continued to compete on the LPGA Tour, building a career that includes eight professional wins, including one unofficial victory. Her endorsement portfolio includes deals with Callaway Golf and Under Armour.
Current Era
Hurst remains an active member of the LPGA Tour and is based in Melbourne, Florida. She has continued to log starts on the circuit and on the developmental Symetra Tour, contributing to her eight total professional victories.
Notable Events and Milestones
Among Hurst’s signature moments is her record-setting 2008 Futures Tour season, in which she set a single-season earnings mark of $93,107 and won five times. She also earned AJGA Player of the Year honors in 2007, capping a junior career that included selection to the U.S. PING Junior Solheim Cup Team and the Canon Cup.
Vicky Hurst Career Wins
Hurst has accumulated eight professional wins across the Futures Tour and Symetra Tour, including one unofficial victory. Her first full season as a professional produced the bulk of those titles, and she has continued to add to her total in subsequent campaigns on the developmental circuit.
Futures Tour and Symetra Tour Highlights
Hurst won five times on the Futures Tour in 2008, a haul that included a Tour record for single-season earnings. She later added further victories on the Symetra Tour, including an unofficial win at the Duramed Invitational on October 19.
Vicky Hurst Family
Family Background and Racing Lineage
Hurst was raised in Melbourne, Florida, by a family with deep roots in the game. Her mother, Koko Hurst, is a native of Korea, and her father, Joe Hurst, was a retired Air Force colonel who met Koko while stationed in Korea in the 1980s. Joe died of a massive stroke in April 2006, when Vicky was 15, and she has said she dedicates her career to his memory.
Personal Life
Hurst has an older sister, Kelly, also an accomplished golfer and a member of the University of Florida golf team, though Kelly never played for the Gators. Hurst continues to reside in Melbourne, Florida, and represents sponsors Callaway Golf and Under Armour.
2025 Season Performance
Heading into the 2025 LPGA Tour season, Hurst remains an active tour member and looks to build on her career totals. As a long-hitting veteran with more than a decade of experience, she is positioned as a steady presence in the field rather than a rookie breakthrough story.
Her track record of leading the tour in driving distance earlier in her career suggests she can still compete on courses that reward length, while her eight professional wins provide a baseline of consistency on the developmental circuits.
With the Symetra Tour continuing to serve as a pathway to the LPGA, Hurst’s mix of experience and power keeps her in position to add to her win totals and contribute to team events when opportunities arise.