GAINESVILLE, Virginia (AFP) - Willard Hurley Jr, the father of US PGA Tour player Billy Hurley, was located and is safe after going missing for 12 days, the younger Hurley and his family confirmed on Friday.

The news came three days after the 33-year-old American, playing in this week's Quicken Loans National, pleaded for help from media and the public to find his father, who lives in Leesburg, Virginia.

"My dad has been found. He's safe. He's alive. He's in Texas," Hurley said after his second round on Friday. "We don't know what comes next at this point. We just want to say thank you very much for helping us find him, the public, the law enforcement, all the media. We can't express how thankful we are."

Hurley's father, a 61-year-old retired police officer, drove off in his truck on July 19 with some clothes and cash. Hurley had no idea why he vanished.

"It's all speculation," he said. "At this point we're not going to speculate about what's going on."

Hurley's mother, and the wife of the elder Hurley for more than 30 years, had filed a missing person's report on Monday.

In a message for his father, Hurley said: "Dad, I love you and we want you to come home. That's the bottom line. We just want you to come home."

Hurley said he had a hint something was going on with his father when television cameras began covering his round.

"I knew something was going on," the world No. 237 said. "I was trying to make the cut and I'm being followed by a TV camera. That doesn't really happen on the PGA Tour.

"I saw one of our security officials behind the 18th green and said, 'OK, something is up.'

"He told me (dad) had been found. My family gave me more details after I signed my card."

It was double happiness for Hurley, who made the cut right on the line at two-under after consecutive rounds of 70. He is nine shots behind the leader Ryo Ishikawa of Japan.