South African native David Hurly leads strong fall season for men’s golf

Junior David Hurly moved to Pennsylvania from South Africa when he was 12 years old. Now at Lehigh studying finance, Hurly has led a strong fall season for the men’s golf team. 

Hurly said the transition from South Africa to the United States was challenging at first. 

“We almost moved back after about a year of being here, but I think I’m in a much better place now,” Hurly said. “I still go back to Africa a lot. I miss it dearly.”

Hurly’s grandfather was a professional golfer and is now in the South African Golf Hall of Fame. His father also played golf. 

Hurly said they are both responsible for introducing him to the sport.  Growing up, however, golf wasn’t Hurly’s only focus — he played soccer and tennis as well. 

“Those were the three sports I was really good at,” Hurly said. “I just always had this sentimental value and love for golf. I loved the game so I gave up the other two.”

Hurly decided to fully pursue golf when he was 14 years old. 

He said after committing to play for a collegiate athletic team, he loves the game even more now than when he started.

Hurly attended The Haverford School in Haverford, Pensylvania. He had a notable high school career, but said he has enjoyed the change of pace at Lehigh.

“My high school team was a bit dysfunctional at times,” Hurly said. “I felt like it was a bit of a toxic environment, so I focused more on tournaments outside of high school, which is where college coaches look to recruit.”

Lehigh assistant coach Billy Johns said Hurly is a hard worker who has improved over the course of each of his seasons on the team.

“Each season his scores continue to get lower and both his long and short game have continued to improve,” Johns said.

Hurly said he chose Lehigh because of the exceptional education and the opportunity to continue his golf career at a high level.

Throughout his time at the university, Hurly has made close friendships with his teammates. He described his relationship with his teammates as a competitive, yet supportive. 

Sophomore Edmund Broderick said Hurly’s greatest strength is his perseverance.

“He’ll always grind it out to get the score for us, whether it’s driving, chipping or putting,” Broderick said.

Hurly said he loves that golf is a social game which you can play for a long time.

“I think that’s an aspect of the sport that gets overlooked sometimes,” Hurly said. “A lot of my best friends that I have made, I never would have had any chance of meeting them if I hadn’t chosen golf.”