May 11, 2004

Navy senior golfer Billy Hurley (Leesburg, Va.) is one of five finalists for the 2004 Byron Nelson Award presented by Cleveland Golf, in cooperation with the Four Seasons Resort and Club Las Colinas and the Salesmanship Club of Dallas.

On Monday, the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) announced the five finalists: Scott Carlyle and Peter Tomasulo of California, Toledo's Brad Heaven, Billy Hurley of Navy and Florida's Camilo Villegas.

Candidates for the Nelson Award must be a graduating senior and the selection committee will consider equally a nominee's entire collegiate academic career, entire collegiate golf career and his character and integrity while in college. Particular consideration will be given to a nominee's good citizenship, as portrayed by Mr. Byron Nelson over the course of his life and golf career.

A four-time All-Patriot League selection, Hurley is one of the best golfers in the program's history. Of the 50 collegiate meets in which he participated during his four-year career, he produced seven wins, finished in the top-five 25 times and the top-10 31 times.

He was one of the first-two players to be named to the 2004 Palmer Cup presented by Monster Team and is the first player to represent a service academy in the annual Ryder Cup-style competition. He was also on the watch list for the 2004 The Ben Hogan Award and was named the 2004 Patriot League Player of the Year after capturing the Patriot League Tournament title. Additionally, Hurley has been nominated for the Naval Academy Thompson Trophy Cup and the Naval Academy Athletic Association Sword.

The recipient of the 2004 Nelson Award will be named later this month. Jason Allred of Pepperdine was the inaugural Nelson Award recipient in 2002, while Georgia Tech's Troy Matteson earned the honor last year.