American professional golfer (1923?2024)
John Joseph Burke Jr.
(January 29, 1923 ? January 19, 2024) was an American
professional golfer
who was most prominent in the 1950s. The son of a professional golfer,
Jack Burke Sr.
, he won two
major titles
, both in 1956, the
Masters
and
PGA Championship
, and is a member of the
World Golf Hall of Fame
.
Burke won 16
PGA Tour
events between 1950 and 1963. He won four times in 1950 and five times in 1952, including four in consecutive weeks in February and March. He had not won since 1953 when he won the 1956 Masters, coming from eight strokes behind in the final round to overtake leader
Ken Venturi
, an
amateur
, who took 80. Later in 1956 he won the PGA Championship, beating
Ted Kroll
3&2 in the final. His last tour win came in 1963, just before his 40th birthday. Burke was on five successive American
Ryder Cup
teams from 1951 to 1959, serving as playing captain in
1957
, when Great Britain won for the first time since 1933, and as the non-playing captain in
1973
. He had a successful playing record, winning 7 of his 8 matches, only losing his singles match in 1957.
In 1957, Burke and
Jimmy Demaret
founded
Champions Golf Club
in
Houston
. The club has hosted a number of important events including the
1967 Ryder Cup
and the
1969 U.S. Open
.
Early life
[
edit
]
Born in
Fort Worth, Texas
, Burke started playing golf at the age of seven. His father,
Jack Burke Sr.
, was the club professional at
Houston
's
River Oaks Country Club
until his sudden death in 1943. He was a runner-up at the
U.S. Open
in
1920
.
[1]
[2]
The younger Burke graduated from
St. Thomas High School
in Houston in 1940. He attended
Rice University
in 1941.
[3]
While still an amateur he qualified for the
1941 U.S. Open
, the first to be played in
Texas
, but missed the cut.
[4]
In 1942 he became the professional at Galveston Country Club.
[5]
From 1942 to 1946 he served in the
U.S. Marine Corps
and was stationed at
Marine Corps Air Station Miramar
where he taught combat skills to Marines headed overseas for
World War II
.
[6]
Golf career
[
edit
]
After the war, Burke resumed his golf career after first considering work in the oil fields of Texas. His first job was as a teaching professional at Hollywood Golf Club in
Deal, New Jersey
, which was followed by a position as an assistant at
Winged Foot Golf Club
,
[7]
where he was mentored by
Claude Harmon
. From early 1948 he was the club professional at Metropolis Country Club in
White Plains, New York
.
[1]
In January 1949, Burke finished tied for the third place in the
Long Beach Open
, having led after 3 rounds.
[8]
In September he won the
Metropolitan Open
at his home club, finishing six strokes ahead of
Gene Sarazen
. Burke started 1950 with a third-place finish in the
Los Angeles Open
.
[9]
In the following days he was a joint winner in the
Bing Crosby Pro-Am
, one of four players who finished tied.
[10]
In February he won his first outright tour event, the
Rio Grande Valley Open
and had further wins in March and July, finishing fifth in the PGA tour money list.
[11]
[12]
He did not win in 1951 but was runner-up five times and again finished fifth in the money list.
[13]
In February and March 1952 Burke won four successive tournaments in four weeks. Three of these he won by six or more strokes with the other being won in a three-way playoff. He had his fifth win of the season in December. In addition he lost two 18-hole playoffs during the year and finished second in the
Masters
.
[14]
[15]
[16]
Burke won the
Vardon Trophy
for the lowest scoring average in 1952, finishing third in the money list.
[17]
Burke won a further PGA tour event in 1953 but only finished 19th in the money list.
[18]
He did not win in 1954 but he finished second in the
Vardon Trophy
standings and second in the money list, helped by $7,500 won for a runner-up finish in the big money
World Championship of Golf
. In 1955 he dropped to 15th in the money list. He reach the quarterfinals of
1955 PGA Championship
, losing a nine-hour, 40-hole quarterfinal match to
Cary Middlecoff
.
[19]
Burke won two majors in 1956, the Masters and the PGA Championship.
[2]
In his
Masters
victory, Burke came from eight strokes behind in the final round to overtake
Ken Venturi
, then an
amateur
. After three rounds Venturi led by four strokes from
Cary Middlecoff
with the rest of the field at least seven shots behind. After 8 holes of the final round Venturi had a six-stroke lead over Middlecoff and Burke. Middlecoff took a double bogey at the 17th hole, his third of the round, and finished in third place. Burke completed the last 10 holes in level par while Venturi had seven bogeys, giving Burke a one-shot victory over Venturi with Middlecoff a further shot behind.
[20]
[21]
For the
1956 PGA Championship
the format had been changed with 128 players competing in a pure matchplay format, players qualifying through a mixture of exemptions and sectional qualifying. Previously there had been 36 holes of strokeplay followed by matchplay for the leading 64. Burke won 7 matches, defeating Leon Pounders,
Bill Collins
,
Fred Haas
,
Chandler Harper
and
Fred Hawkins
in 18 holes matches to reach the 36-hole semifinals. In his semifinal against
Ed Furgol
, Burke was 5-down after 14 holes of the morning round but recovered to win at the 37th hole, to meet
Ted Kroll
in the final. Kroll was 3-up after 19 holes but Burke made 5 birdies in 6 holes from the 4th hole to go 2-up and eventually won 3&2.
[22]
He was selected
PGA Player of the Year
in 1956, finishing 5th in the money list.
[2]
After 1956, Burke had less success although he won further
PGA Tour
events in 1958, 1959, 1961 and 1963 bringing his total to 16 over his career.
[23]
In 1958, he finished 14th in the tour money list, his best season after 1956.
[24]
Burke was in five successive American
Ryder Cup
teams from 1951 to 1959.
[25]
He was the playing captain in
1957
and the non-playing captain in
1973
.
[25]
He had a successful playing record, winning his first 7 matches; two matches in 1951, 1953 and 1955, and winning in the foursomes in 1957, before losing to
Peter Mills
in the singles.
[25]
Mills won 5 holes in a row from the 6th to the 10th to be 5 up, finished the morning round 5 ahead and eventually won the match 5&3. Great Britain won 6 of the 8 singles and halved another to win the Ryder Cup for the first time since 1933.
[26]
Burke was in the 1959 Ryder Cup team but had a hand injury and was not selected for any matches.
[27]
Burke partnered with
Jimmy Demaret
to found
Champions Golf Club
in Houston in 1957. The 36-hole facility hosted a
PGA Tour
event from
1966
to
1971
, today's
Shell Houston Open
. As well, the club hosted the
1967 Ryder Cup
, the
1969 U.S. Open
, the 1993
U.S. Amateur
, and the
PGA Tour Championship
in 1990, 1997, 1999, 2001, and 2003. Burke was the fifth recipient of the
PGA Tour Lifetime Achievement Award
in 2003, and was inducted into the
World Golf Hall of Fame
in 2000.
[2]
Burke shares his permanent locker at
Augusta National Golf Club
, home of The Masters, with
Tiger Woods
. Both kept their green jackets in the locker, awarded to the winners of the tournament. Burke coached several current PGA Tour stars, including
Phil Mickelson
, in putting.
[28]
[29]
Personal life
[
edit
]
Burke was first married to Ielene Lang in 1952.
[30]
His second wife was Robin Moran, an amateur golfer. She was runner-up in the 1997
U.S. Women's Amateur
, played in the 1998
Curtis Cup
and was the captain of the American
2016 Curtis Cup
team. She was inducted into the Texas Golf Hall of Fame in 2016. They ran the Champions Golf Club together.
[31]
[32]
Burke became a
centenarian
on January 29, 2023, and also became the first known
major winner
to turn 100.
[33]
Death
[
edit
]
Burke died on January 19, 2024, 10 days before what would have been his 101st birthday.
[34]
At the time of his death in 2024, Burke was the oldest living major golf champion.
[35]
Professional wins (19)
[
edit
]
PGA Tour wins (16)
[
edit
]
Legend
|
Major championships (2)
|
Other PGA Tour (14)
|
No.
|
Date
|
Tournament
|
Winning score
|
Margin of
victory
|
Runner(s)-up
|
1
|
Jan 15, 1950
|
Bing Crosby Pro-Am
|
?2 (75-67-72=214)
|
Shared title with
Dave Douglas
,
Smiley Quick
and
Sam Snead
|
2
|
Feb 19, 1950
|
Rio Grande Valley Open
|
?20 (66-67-66-65=264)
|
2 strokes
|
Skip Alexander
|
3
|
Mar 5, 1950
|
St. Petersburg Open
|
?12 (67-67-69-69=272)
|
1 stroke
|
Chick Harbert
|
4
|
Jul 30, 1950
|
Sioux City Open
|
?20 (65-68-65-70=268)
|
3 strokes
|
Skip Alexander
|
5
|
Feb 17, 1952
|
Texas Open
|
?24 (67-65-64-64=260)
|
6 strokes
|
Doug Ford
|
6
|
Feb 24, 1952
|
Houston Open
|
?11 (69-67-69-72=277)
|
6 strokes
|
Frank Stranahan
(a)
|
7
|
Mar 3, 1952
|
Baton Rouge Open
|
?7 (68-70-72-71=281)
|
Playoff
|
Tommy Bolt
,
Bill Nary
|
8
|
Mar 9, 1952
|
St. Petersburg Open
(2)
|
?22 (66-69-65-66=266)
|
8 strokes
|
Al Besselink
|
9
|
Dec 14, 1952
|
Miami Open
|
?7 (69-66-69-69=273)
|
Playoff
|
Dick Mayer
|
10
|
Jun 21, 1953
|
Inverness Invitational
|
?12 (68-64-69-71=272)
|
2 strokes
|
Fred Haas
|
11
|
Apr 8, 1956
|
Masters Tournament
|
+1 (72-71-75-71=289)
|
1 stroke
|
Ken Venturi
(a)
|
12
|
Jul 24, 1956
|
PGA Championship
|
3 and 2
|
Ted Kroll
|
13
|
Jul 13,
1958
|
Insurance City Open Invitational
|
?16 (63-67-69-69=268)
|
3 strokes
|
Dow Finsterwald
,
Art Wall Jr.
|
14
|
Apr 20,
1959
|
Houston Classic
(2)
|
?11 (69-66-72-70=277)
|
Playoff
|
Julius Boros
|
15
|
Jul 4,
1961
|
Buick Open Invitational
|
?4 (71-71-72-70=284)
|
Playoff
|
Billy Casper
,
Johnny Pott
|
16
|
Jan 27,
1963
|
Lucky International Open
|
?8 (70-69-70-67=276)
|
3 strokes
|
Don January
|
Source:
[23]
PGA Tour playoff record (4?4)
No.
|
Year
|
Tournament
|
Opponent(s)
|
Result
|
1
|
1952
|
Los Angeles Open
|
Tommy Bolt
,
Dutch Harrison
|
Bolt won 18-hole playoff;
Bolt: ?2 (69),
Burke: E (71),
Harrison: +3 (74)
|
2
|
1952
|
Baton Rouge Open
|
Tommy Bolt
,
Bill Nary
|
Won with birdie on second extra hole
Bolt eliminated by par on first hole after 18-hole playoff;
Burke: ?2 (70),
Bolt: ?2 (70),
Nary: ?2 (70)
|
3
|
1952
|
Kansas City Open
|
Cary Middlecoff
|
Lost 18-hole playoff;
Middlecoff: ?6 (66),
Burke: E (72)
|
4
|
1952
|
Miami Open
|
Dick Mayer
|
Won with birdie on fifth extra hole
|
5
|
1955
|
Rubber City Open
|
Jackson Bradley
,
Doug Ford
,
Henry Ransom
|
Ransom won with birdie on first extra hole
|
6
|
1958
|
Eastern Open Invitational
|
Bob Rosburg
,
Art Wall Jr.
|
Wall won with birdie on first extra hole
|
7
|
1959
|
Houston Classic
|
Julius Boros
|
Won 18-hole playoff;
Burke: ?8 (64),
Boros: ?3 (69)
|
8
|
1961
|
Buick Open Invitational
|
Billy Casper
,
Johnny Pott
|
Won 18-hole playoff;
Burke: ?1 (71),
Casper: +2 (74),
Pott: +2 (74)
|
Sources:
[23]
[36]
Other wins (3)
[
edit
]
Note: This list may be incomplete.
Major championships
[
edit
]
Wins (2)
[
edit
]
Results timeline
[
edit
]
Note: Burke never played in
The Open Championship
.
Win
Top 10
Did not play
CUT = missed the halfway cut
WD = withdrew
R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in PGA Championship match play
"T" indicates a tie for a place.
Source:
[40]
Summary
[
edit
]
- Most consecutive cuts made ? 14 (1951 Masters ? 1956 Masters)
- Longest streak of top-10s ? 3 (1955 U.S. Open ? 1956 Masters)
Source:
[40]
U.S. national team appearances
[
edit
]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
"Sport: Texas Grass Fire"
.
Time
. March 13, 1950. Archived from
the original
on June 15, 2009
. Retrieved
January 3,
2013
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
"Member bio: Jack Burke Jr"
. World Golf Hall of Fame
. Retrieved
December 20,
2013
.
- ^
Montgomery, Philip (Fall 2002).
"Par for the course"
(PDF)
.
Sallyport
. pp. 26?29.
- ^
"U.S. Open scores"
.
The Spokesman-Review
. Associated Press. June 7, 1941. p. 9.
- ^
"Burke instructs marines in golf"
.
The Long Beach Sun
. January 27, 1943. p. 11.
- ^
Mickey, Lisa D. (November 11, 2017).
"Veterans Day Has Special Meaning for Jack Burke Jr"
.
United States Golf Association
. Retrieved
August 4,
2019
.
- ^
Hauser, Melanie.
"A Champion of Golf"
(PDF)
. The Memorial Tournament magazine. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on July 17, 2011
. Retrieved
April 10,
2010
.
- ^
"Demaret and Hogan Tie At 272"
.
Daytona Beach Morning Journal
.
Daytona Beach, Florida
. January 25, 1949. p. 5.
- ^
"Snead and Ben Hogan tie at 280 in Los Angeles Open Golf Tournament"
.
The Spokesman-Review
. January 11, 1950. p. 12.
- ^
"Four Deadlock At End of Crosby Golf"
.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
. Associated Press. January 16, 1950. p. 15.
- ^
"Burke Wins With a 264"
.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
. Associated Press. February 20, 1950. p. 18.
- ^
"Snead Winnings Reach $35,758.83"
.
The Spokesman-Review
. December 13, 1950. p. 20.
- ^
"Mangrum Grabs Double Crown"
.
The Spokesman-Review
. December 23, 1951. p. Sports3.
- ^
"Bolt Shoots 69 to Win Los Angeles Open Playoff"
.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
. Associated Press. January 9, 1952. p. 18.
- ^
"Middlecoff Wins Playoff"
.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
. Associated Press. August 19, 1952. p. 15.
- ^
"Snead's 286 Wins Masters Golf Title"
.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
. Associated Press. April 7, 1952. p. 20.
- ^
"Boros Jumps From Nowhere to Top By Collecting $37,032 on Golf Trail"
.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
. Associated Press. December 18, 1952. p. 22.
- ^
"Worsham Wins Professional Golf's '53 Dollar Derby"
.
The Spokesman-Review
. December 27, 1953. p. Sports2.
- ^
"Middlecoff's Great Rally Beats Burke in PGA"
.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
. Associated Press. July 25, 1955. p. 19.
- ^
"Jack Burke Surprise Winner of Masters Golf"
.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
. Associated Press. April 9, 1956. p. 18
. Retrieved
January 3,
2013
.
- ^
Wind, Herbert Warren
(April 16, 1956).
"And Then?Jackie Burke Took Charge"
.
Sports Illustrated
. p. 28
. Retrieved
March 29,
2016
.
- ^
"Burkes's Blazing Putter Wins PGA, 3 and 2"
.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
. Associated Press. July 25, 1956. p. 15
. Retrieved
January 3,
2013
.
- ^
a
b
c
"Jack Burke, Jr"
. PGA Tour
. Retrieved
January 20,
2024
.
- ^
"Club History - Metropolis Country Club"
.
www.metropoliscc.org
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
"2012 Ryder Cup Media Guide"
(PDF)
. Retrieved
October 16,
2022
.
- ^
"Ryder Cup regained after 24 years".
The Times
. October 7, 1957. p. 12.
- ^
"Judgment error gives U.S. lead"
.
Dayton Daily News
. November 7, 1959. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^
Murray, Ewan (April 2, 2017).
"The 94-year-old Masters champion, who shares Tiger's locker, on why he won't go back"
.
The Guardian
.
- ^
Michaux, Scott (April 4, 2011).
"Burke still has plenty to teach"
.
www.augusta.com
.
- ^
"Pro Jackie Burke Weds Golf Fan"
.
Tyler Morning Telegraph
. October 9, 1952. p. 10.
- ^
"Robin Burke"
. Texas Golf Hall of Fame.
- ^
"FamilySearch.org"
.
FamilySearch
. Retrieved
July 1,
2023
.
- ^
Yocam, Guy (January 19, 2024).
"A former Masters champ is turning 100 and throwing an all-star bash to celebrate"
.
Golf Digest
. Retrieved
May 17,
2023
.
- ^
Schupak, Adam (January 19, 2024).
"Jack Burke Jr., the oldest living member of the World Golf Hall of Fame, has died at age 100"
.
Golfweek
. Retrieved
January 19,
2024
.
- ^
"Jack Burke Jr., who was the oldest living Masters champion, dies at age 100"
.
NPR
. Associated Press. January 19, 2024.
- ^
"Bolt wins rich Los Angeles Open"
.
The Tribune (San Luis Obispo)
. January 9, 1952. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^
"Met Open Championship Presented by Callaway History"
. Metropolitan Golf Association. March 8, 2012
. Retrieved
January 20,
2024
.
- ^
"Burke wins Yomiuri golf"
.
Honolulu Star-Bulletin
. October 20, 1958. p. 19 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^
"Texas State Open History & Past Champions | Northern Texas PGA"
. Retrieved
January 20,
2024
.
- ^
a
b
Brenner, Morgan G. (2009).
The Majors of Golf: Complete Results of the Open, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and the Masters, 1860-2008
. Vol. 1. McFarland.
ISBN
978-0-7864-3360-5
.
- ^
McAuley, Ed (August 28, 1952).
"Westerner wallops Doug Ford 9 & 7; British champ tops Julius Boros 2 up"
.
The Montreal Gazette
. p. 16.
- ^
McAuley, Ed (June 8, 1953).
"U.S. pros conquer Canadians 27?18 in international golf"
.
The Montreal Gazette
. p. 23.
- ^
"Canadians bow 17?10 to U.S. pro golfers"
.
The Montreal Gazette
. January 20, 1955. p. 19.
Further reading
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
|
---|
|
---|
| † indicates the event was won in a playoff; ‡ indicates the event was won
wire-to-wire
; 1943?1945
cancelled due to
World War II
|
|
|
---|
- PGA Players of the Year
- PGA Tour Players of the Year
|