[3] Hurst played college golf at San José State University and won team and individual NCAA titles in 1989.

Hurst spent the next few years working as a teaching pro at La Quinta Country Club and playing on the Players West Tour, where she won five times.

She eventually quit playing golf at one point, taking a job at a Nevada Bob's store in her hometown of San Leandro.

[2][8] Hurst lost a playoff to Annika Sörenstam at the U.S. Women's Open in 2006,[9] the last conducted over a full 18 holes.

Hurst's win at the Nabisco Dinah Shore in 1998 makes her exempt for the U.S. Senior Women's Open for ten years (2020–2029).