Hurley Teams with Bridgestone to Support Birdies for the Brave

PGA TOUR rookie and U.S. Navy veteran Billy Hurley III has teamed with Bridgestone in support of Birdies for the Brave.
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January 31, 2012

By PGA TOUR Staff

COVINGTON, Ga.—PGA TOUR player Billy Hurley III has teamed with Bridgestone Golf to raise funds for Birdies for the Brave throughout the 2012 PGA TOUR season. Retroactive to Hurley’s first event of the year, the Sony Open in Hawaii, Bridgestone will make a donation to PGA TOUR Charities, Inc. on behalf of Birdies for the Brave based upon Hurley’s tournament finishes. For every PGA TOUR cut made this season, Bridgestone will donate $1,000. In addition, every time Hurley records a top-10 finish, Bridgestone will donate $5,000. Any victory Hurley earns will net the charity $10,000. 

After a highly decorated collegiate golf career, that included a spot on the 2004 U.S. Walker Cup team, and graduation from the U.S. Naval Academy in 2004, Hurley served for five years in the U.S. Navy. Hurley’s service included a stint as lieutenant aboard the destroyer USS Chung-Hoon in the Persian Gulf. Hurley’s duty while aboard the Chung-Hoon was safeguarding two of the world’s largest oil platforms during the Iraq War. Now having fulfilled his dream of earning a PGA TOUR card, Hurley is eager to use his newfound celebrity to help his brothers and sisters in arms. 

“We are thrilled to have Billy Hurley lend his support alongside Bridgestone Golf as we work to honor and show appreciation to the courageous men and women of our U.S. Armed Forces and their families through Birdies for the Brave,” said Stephen Kupcha, the PGA TOUR’s senior manager of public relations and military/community outreach and former Navy SEAL.  “We appreciate his service and sacrifice in service to our country and applaud his efforts to help generate funds and awareness for the benefit of fellow military members, wounded warriors and military families.”

Hurley will display the Birdies for the Brave logo on his Bridgestone Golf staff bag throughout the 2012 PGA TOUR season. In appreciation of his commitment to charity, the PGA TOUR will also highlight Hurley in promotion of the Birdies for the Brave program in its 2012 marketing efforts.

“We are delighted to continue our company’s extensive track record of supporting U.S. military charities, through this innovative campaign with Birdies for the Brave and Billy Hurley III,” said Dan Murphy, vice president of marketing - Bridgestone Golf, Inc. “Since our entrance into the U.S. market in 2005, Bridgestone Golf has proudly supported a variety of charities dedicated to improving the lives of the men and women who served with valor in defending our nation’s freedom. This program is all the more special because Billy is one of those brave men and women.”