John Joseph Burke Jr., known as Jack Burke Jr., has died this Friday at the age of 100. The American won 17 times on the PGA Tour, including two Majors in 1956 (the Masters and the PGA Championship), which earned him the honours of Player of the Year. In 1952 he won four consecutive tournaments, in addition to the Vardon Trophy, which is awarded for a low scoring average. He played on five Ryder Cup teams during the 1950s, was captain twice and hosted another on his own course. He was the oldest living member of the Hall of Fame.
He was born on January 29, 1923 in Fort Worth (Texas) and started playing at the age of 7. His father was the main professional at the River Oaks Country Club in the Houston area and taught his son the game. Burke Jr. graduated from the city’s high school in 1940 and then attended Rice University, qualifying for the US Open in 1941 in his home state as an amateur. A year later, he turned professional at Galveston Country Club. However, that same year, Burke joined the Marine Corps of the United States to begin a period of service until 1946. He was stationed at the Miramar Air Station and taught combat skills to the marines who were heading overseas for World War II.
In 1950, Burke enjoyed his first major victory as a professional, teaming up in the Bing Crosby Pro-Am to share first place with three other partners. He achieved his first absolute solo victory weeks later at the Rio Grande Valley Open, starting a season of four victories. After not winning in 1951 despite consistent results, Burke prevailed five times in 1952, including four consecutive victories in February and March, three of which were by at least six strokes.
Shares locker in Augusta with…. Tiger Woods
Four years later, Burke enjoyed the year of his career, winning the Masters and the PGA Championship. In the first Major, he came back from eight strokes down to contest the final round and beat Ken Venturi, who was looking to become the tournament’s first amateur winner. In the PGA, he won a 128-player match-play tournament, as the format had been changed to eliminate 36 holes of stroke play that qualified for a group of 64 players. Burke won seven 18-hole matches to reach the 36-hole semi-final round against Ed Furgol. He was 5 down after 14 holes, but recovered in the last 22 to level the match and force a playoff, which he won to face Ted Kroll in the final. Burke was again down at the start of the 36-hole final, losing 3 after 19 holes. However, from the 22nd flag, Burke made five birdies in six holes to turn the tide before winning by 3 and 2.
In 1957, Burke partnered with Jimmy Demaret to start the Champions Golf Club (he ran it until 2021) in Houston, a 36-hole facility that hosted the Houston Open from 1966 to 1971, the 1967 Ryder Cup, the 1969 US Open, the US Amateur in 1993, the Tour Championship five times and the US Women’s Open 2020.
Burke was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2000 and received the PGA Tour Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003. He shares his locker at the Augusta National Golf Club with Tiger Woods.
