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Home > Archive > Jul 12, 2007

Eagles and Flyers Together
By Stephen Vincent
Growing up next door to each other, Jordan Hammer and Mike Jurca have been almost inseparable.
And, together, they've accomplished quite a bit: Both played on Dixie High School's back-to-back state championship golf teams; they both received their Eagle Scout award at the same Court of Honor in May, and, later this month, the two will play in one of the premier junior golf tournaments: The Optimist International in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
The tournament, which runs July 25-29, includes 750 golfers from 43 states and 37 countries. In the boys’ 16-18 division, Jurca and Hammer are two of four golfers from Utah who qualified; one other participant from St. George is Kacy Buckner, who will compete in the girls’ 16-18 division.
To qualify, Hammer and Jurca played in a two-day tournament in Evanston, Wyo., at the Purple Sage Golf Course. The top five finishers qualified for the Optimist Tournament: Jurca took second, and Hammer took fourth.
“Just to make it there says a lot about how far we've come with our game,” Jurca said.
Last year, Hammer competed in the Junior Worlds Tournament, which he said is similar to the Optimist Tournament.
“Last year, I looked at Junior Worlds as a vacation,” Hammer said. “I've gotten a lot better this year, and I think both of our goals is to make the cut. The national tournaments are where it's at. It's where you see how truly good you are.”
Both Jurca and Hammer said they look forward to experiencing the prestigious tournament with their best friend.
“It makes it that much better that he's there,” Hammer said. “Anything we've done, we've done it together.”
Jurca said it's unusual to have two friends playing together in a national tournament.
“Usually, when you make it to one of these national tournaments, you're by yourself,” Jurca said. “And we've played with each other since we were really young kids. And we pushed each other a lot, so it's going to be nice to have him around.”
Part of what they've pushed each to do is to earn their Eagle Scouts. For one of the requirements of becoming an Eagle Scout, each one had to complete a project that benefits the community.
Jurca chose to build benches at the Hurricane High School tennis courts, so spectators can sit and watch the matches. Jurca chose the project because his older brother, Steve, had planted the trees at the tennis courts for his Eagle Scout project.
“Every time we drive by there, we can say, 'We completed and landscaped that place,'” Jurca said.
Hammer also chose a landscaping task for his Eagle Scout project and redid the landscaping on the islands in the Dixie High School parking lot. The idea came from Hammer's father, Craig, who was the principal of Dixie High School until a recent promotion to work in the district offices.
As principal, Craig Hammer often had boys come and ask what they could do for an Eagle Scout project, so Hammer created a list of ideas, and Jordan chose his project from that list.
It took Jordan Hammer four Saturdays to complete the project last summer.
After the Optimist Tournament, the pair will turn their focus to winning a third state championship with Dixie. The Flyers make the jump from the 3-A classification to 4-A this year, which means Dixie will contend with better competition. Both Jurca and Hammer said they will enjoy the challenge.
“We're all excited,” Hammer said. “I feel we have one of the strongest golf teams in the state. I think we have just as good a chance at 4-A as we did in 3-A.”
Hammer's optimism is fueled by his teammates, as he said the Flyers have eight or 10 kids who can shoot under 75. One of them is their good friend, Stephen Archibald.
“He's been doing really well this summer too,” said Jurca of Archibald. “He's been a huge contributor to our success.”
Jurca said he expects all three – Jurca, Hammer and Archibald – will receive college golf scholarships.
Hammer said that while he is looking forward to playing a year of college golf before serving a church mission, he wants to enjoy his last year of high school golf this fall.
“It's fun to be on a team,” Hammer said. “My best friends are the guys on the golf team. You can still be competitive with each other, but you're playing as a team, and you're trying to help the team win.”
Both Hammer and Jurca began playing golf when they were around 6 years old and both for the same reason: Their older brothers were playing golf.
“My dad and my older brother would always go golfing, and I'd always ask when it was going to be my turn,” Hammer said. “So my dad took me, and it was probably the worst thing he ever did because I'm hooked.”
Hammer and Jurca grew up playing year-round, taking advantage of the St. George Junior Amateur Golf rates of $1 or $2 for a round. They also played in St. George JAG competitions, and later in the Utah Junior Golf Association tournaments.
Both Jurca and Hammer said they like golf because it challenges the individual to perform well.
“When you hit it, it's all on you,” Jurca said. “You can't blame anyone else. It really shows how good you are.”
Jurca said this may be the last year he and Hammer play together on the same team, so they are going to enjoy one more year of playing together.
“Hopefully, we can stay friends for life,” Jurca said.

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