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Good friendship: Hurley, Archer’s golf story comes full circle at state

By Jordan Holland 5 min read

BEVERLY -- Brock Hurley and Tanner Archer grew up playing golf together. Now, they're going to the state tournament together.

Hurley, a sophomore at Waterford, and Archer, a freshman at Fort Frye, both delivered elite performances during district tournament action last week to punch their tickets to state. Archer tees off at 10:20 a.m. Sunday at Firestone Country Club while Hurley gets started Monday morning at NorthStar Golf Club.

"We go back to like third or fourth grade golfing at Lakeside," Hurley said. "We grew up sharing clubs. He used to let me use his set since I didn't have one yet. I started golfing with him pretty regularly, and he taught me a lot."

Hurley earned medalist honors when he shot a 70 at Elks Country Club to win the district title. Archer placed fourth at his district, carding a 72 at EagleSticks.

"We used to share a set of clubs," Archer recalled. "We started playing in tournaments together, and it just turned into a good friendship. We golf pretty much every day. We've gotten better together."

At state, the Washington County duo won't be competing against one another, as Fort Frye is in Division II while Waterford is in D3.

"When I saw he made it, it added some pressure," Hurley laughed. "I knew I needed to make it. I couldn't let him go and not me."

Hurley got a taste of the state tournament last year when the Wildcats qualified as a team. His head coach, Tyson Powers, is hoping that experience proves beneficial for the sophomore.

"Last year got the nerves out for him," Powers said. "He feels confident he can go down there and play well. He stays cool and stays collected under pressure. He's got maturity beyond his years."

Hurley, Powers and Waterford assistant Frank Colyer will travel on Sunday for a practice round in Sunbury. Hurley will get a feel for things, put together a plan of attack and, most importantly, test out the greens.

"They're quick," Powers said, "especially compared to what we're used to in Southeast Ohio.

"We'll let him go out there and swing away, and we'll be there for support and make sure he's following through on what his plan was. It'll be sort of like a caddie relationship."

Hurley plans on treating state like any other match and leaning on what got him there.

"My mindset is to just go and play my game how I've been playing all year," he said. "My goal is to get all-state. Anything better than that is icing on top.

Hurley can secure All-Ohio honors with a top-10 finish. If he can do that, it'd be the second year in a row a Wildcat golfer earned all-state honors. Last year, Reese Lang placed ninth at the state tournament.

"He'd love to beat that," Powers said. "Brock and Reese love to compete."

Lang finished two strokes behind Hurley at districts as Waterford finished runner-up as a team.

"Shoutout to my teammates and coaches," Hurley said. "I wouldn't be here without them and everyone who's supported me."

Archer had to overcome adversity early in his first district tournament after bogeying his first two holes, a scenario that could've sent most young golfers spiraling.

Archer, however, isn't most golfers.

"It kind of just came out of nowhere," Archer said. "I didn't really hit any bad shots. It kind of just happened. I hit a good iron shot on the par 5 third hole, chipped it to five feet and made birdie. After that, I calmed down a little bit."

First-year Fort Frye head coach Aaron Emery was impressed with the freshman's resiliency.

"It didn't faze him," he said. "He settled down and kicked butt the rest of the way. After starting four over through two holes, he was 2 under from that point on and punched his ticket to state."

Archer averaged 35 per nine holes this season. He possesses all the physical and mental tools a coach could want to see in a golfer.

"His skillset physically is unbelievable, but his mental ability is there, too," Emery said. "He has a calmness about him when he plays. It's pretty impressive."

Emery coached the Marietta High girls when Saylor Wharff was a state qualifier for the Tigers. He said Wharff and Archer have a lot in common.

"They're two peas in a pod," Emery said. "Tanner's pretty much the complete package right now as a freshman."

Similar to Hurley and his coaches, Emery will help Archer develop a course management plan and will be there for support throughout the state tournament.

"He's the type of player you kind of leave alone," Emery said. "He has the conviction and ownership of his game to go out there and play the way he wants to play."

Archer, who is aiming to place top 15 and keep his score under 80, credits the improvement of his driver for helping him take his game to the next level. He's hitting his driver with more power and accuracy this season. He's also put in extensive work on his mental game.

"It's gotten a lot better," he said. "I used to get really mad at stuff, but I realized that doesn't help you at all. Just stay positive and think about the good shots you can hit."

When things do start to get away from Archer, he refers to some wise words from his grandmother.

"She always told me to never give up," he said. "At district, I never gave up on myself. I want to thank my coach as well. He gave me a really great speech on the range at district that helped me a lot."

Contact Jordan Holland at jholland@mariettatimes.com.

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