John Joseph Burke Jr. (born January 29, 1923) is an American retired professional

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...

er 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 The PGA Championship (often referred to as the US PGA Championship or USPGA outside the United States) is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers' Association of America. It is one of the four men's major championships ...

, and is a member of the

World Golf Hall of Fame The World Golf Hall of Fame is located at World Golf Village near St. Augustine, Florida, in the United States, and it is unusual among sports halls of fame in that a single site honors both men and women. It is supported by a consortium of 26 go ...

. Burke won 16

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also ...

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 Kenneth Paul Venturi (May 15, 1931May 17, 2013) was an American professional golfer and golf broadcaster. In a career shortened by injuries, he won 14 events on the PGA Tour including a major, the U.S. Open in 1964. Shortly before his death in 20 ...

, an amateur, who took 80. Later in 1956 he won the PGA Championship, beating

Ted Kroll Ted J. Kroll (August 4, 1919 – April 23, 2002) was an American professional golfer. Kroll was born in New Hartford, New York. Kroll served in the United States Army during World War II and earned three Purple Hearts after being wounded four ti ...

3&2 in the final. His last tour win came in 1963, just before his 40th birthday. Burke was in five successive American Ryder Cup teams from 1951 to 1959, serving as playing captain in

1957 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th year ...

, when Great Britain won for the first time since 1933, and as the non-playing captain in

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: ...

. 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 James Newton Demaret (May 24, 1910 – December 28, 1983) was an American professional golfer. He won 31 PGA Tour events in a long career between 1935 and 1957, and was the first three-time winner of the Masters, with titles in 1940, 1947, and ...

founded

Champions Golf Club Champions Golf Club is a 36-hole private golf club located in Houston, Texas. Established in 1957 by multiple major champions Jack Burke Jr. and Jimmy Demaret, who were both raised in the city, Champions carries a long history for Houston golf. B ...

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

. The club has hosted a number of important events including the

1967 Ryder Cup The 17th Ryder Cup Matches were held October 20–22, 1967 at the Champions Golf Club in Houston, Texas. The United States team won the competition by a record score of 23 to 8 points. To date, the 15-point victory margin remains the largest at ...

and the 1969 U.S. Open.

Early life

Born in

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. Accord ...

, Burke started playing golf at the age of seven. His father, Jack Burke Sr., was the club professional at

River Oaks Country Club River Oaks Country Club is a country club in the River Oaks neighborhood in Houston, Texas. The club has hosted the River Oaks International Tennis Tournament since 1931. It is located at 1600 River Oaks Boulevard, Houston TX 77019. History Rive ...

until his sudden death in 1943. He was a runner-up at the U.S. Open in 1920. The younger Burke graduated from St. Thomas High School in Houston in 1940. He attended

Rice University William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a private research university in Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranked among the top universities ...

in 1941. While still an amateur he qualified for the 1941 U.S. Open, the first to be played in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

, but missed the cut. In 1942 he became the professional at Galveston Country Club. From 1942 to 1946 he served in the Marine Corps and was stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar where he taught combat skills to Marines headed overseas for World War II.

Golf career

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 pro at Hollywood Golf Club in Deal,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, which was followed by a position as an assistant at

Winged Foot Golf Club Winged Foot Golf Club is a private golf club in the northeastern United States, located in Mamaroneck, New York, a suburb northeast of New York City. The club was founded in 1921, by a group largely made up of members of The New York Athletic Cl ...

, where he was mentored by

Claude Harmon Eugene Claude Harmon Sr. (July 14, 1916 – July 23, 1989) was an American professional golfer and golf instructor. Born in Savannah, Georgia, Harmon spent much of his boyhood in Florida, in the Orlando area. A youthful prodigy, he qualified for ...

. From early 1948 he was the club professional at Metropolis Country Club in

White Plains, New York (Always Faithful) , image_seal = WhitePlainsSeal.png , seal_link = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = U.S. state, State , su ...

. In January 1949 Burke finished tied for the third place in the

Long Beach Open The Long Beach Open was a golf tournament on the PGA Tour. It was held in Long Beach, California at the Virginia Country Club from 1926 to 1930 and at the Lakewood Country Club from 1949 to 1951. In 1957 the Long Beach Open was a PGA Satellite Eve ...

, having led after 3 rounds. In September he won the

Metropolitan Open The Metropolitan Open is a golf tournament organized by the Metropolitan Golf Association. In the early 20th century it was one of the top events in the country and was retroactively given PGA Tour-level status. History The tournament has been ...

at his home club, finishing six strokes ahead of Gene Sarazen. Burke started 1950 with a third-place finish in the

Los Angeles Open The Genesis Invitational is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour in southern California, first played in 1926 as the Los Angeles Open. Other previous names include Genesis Open, Northern Trust Open and Nissan Open. Played annually in ...

. In the following days he was a joint winner in the

Bing Crosby Pro-Am The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour, held annually at Pebble Beach, California, near Carmel. The tournament is usually held during the month of February on three different courses, currently Pebble Bea ...

, one of four players who finished level. In February he won his first outright tour event, the

Rio Grande Valley Open The Rio Grande Valley Open was a golf tournament on the PGA Tour that played in the Rio Grande Valley of south Texas in 1949 and 1950. On February 27, 1949, Cary Middlecoff won the event. Jack Burke Jr. won on February 19 of the following year. I ...

and had further wins in March and July, finishing fifth in the PGA tour money list. He didn't win in 1951 but was runner-up five times and again finished fifth in the money list. 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. Burke won the

Vardon Trophy The Vardon Trophy is awarded by the PGA of America to the PGA Tour's leader in scoring average. When the award was first given in 1937, it was awarded on the basis of a points system. No award was given from 1942–1946 due to World War II. In ...

for the lowest scoring average in 1952, finishing third in the money list. Burke won a further PGA tour event in 1953 but only finished 19th in the money list. He didn't win in 1954 but he finished second in the

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 The World Championship of Golf was a championship played on the PGA Tour in the 1940s and 1950s that, in its latter years, boasted a purse that dwarfed every other event on the tour, including even the U.S. Open. It was played in August of each ye ...

. 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 Emmett Cary Middlecoff (January 6, 1921 – September 1, 1998) was an American professional golfer on the PGA Tour from 1947 to 1961. His 39 Tour wins place him tied for tenth all-time, and he won three major championships. Middlecoff graduated a ...

. Burke won two majors in 1956, the Masters and the PGA Championship. In his Masters victory, Burke came from eight strokes behind in the final round to overtake

, then an amateur. After three rounds Venturi led by four strokes from

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. 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 Frederick Theodore Haas Jr. (January 3, 1916 – January 26, 2004) was an American professional golfer. Amateur career Haas was born in Portland, Arkansas. After graduating from Dermott High School, he graduated from Louisiana State University ...

Chandler Harper John Chandler Harper (March 10, 1914 – November 8, 2004) was an American professional golfer, best known for winning the PGA Championship in 1950. He won seven times on the PGA Tour and played in the Ryder Cup in 1955. Harper was born, raised a ...

and

Fred Hawkins Fred Hawkins (September 3, 1923 – December 6, 2014) was an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour from the mid-1940s to the mid-1960s. Hawkins was born in Antioch, Illinois. He attended the University of Illinois and the Tex ...

in 18 holes matches to reach the 36-hole semi-finals. In his semi-final against

Ed Furgol Edward Joseph Furgol (March 24, 1917 – March 6, 1997) was an American professional golfer, the winner of the U.S. Open in 1954. At age twelve, Furgol injured his left elbow when he fell off a set of parallel bars at a playground. Despite sever ...

, Burke was 5-down after 14 holes of the morning round but recovered to win at the 37th hole, to meet

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. He was selected

PGA Player of the Year The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also ...

in 1956, finishing 5th in the money list. After 1956 Burke had less success although he won further

events in 1958, 1959, 1961 and 1963 bringing his total to 16 over his career. In 1958 he finished 14th in the tour money list, his best season after 1956. Burke was in five successive American Ryder Cup teams from 1951 to 1959. He was the playing captain in

and the non-playing captain in

. 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. 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. Burke was in the 1959 Ryder Cup team but had a hand injury and was not selected for any matches. Burke partnered with

to found

in Houston in 1957. The 36-hole facility hosted a

event from 1966 to 1971, today's Shell Houston Open. As well, the club hosted the

, the 1969 U.S. Open, the 1993

U.S. Amateur The United States Amateur Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Amateur, is the leading annual golf tournament in the United States for amateur golfers. It is organized by the United States Golf Association and is currently held each August ov ...

, and the PGA Tour Championship in 1990, 1997, 1999, 2001, and 2003. Burke was the fifth recipient of the

PGA Tour Lifetime Achievement Award Created in 1996, the PGA Tour Lifetime Achievement Award honors individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to the PGA Tour over an extended period of time through their actions on and off the golf course A golf course is the grounds ...

in 2003, and was inducted into the

in 2000. Burke shares his permanent locker at

Augusta National Golf Club Augusta National Golf Club, sometimes referred to as Augusta or the National, is a golf club in Augusta, Georgia, United States. Unlike most private clubs which operate as non-profits, Augusta National is a for-profit corporation, and it does n ...

, home of The Masters, with

Tiger Woods Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in PGA Tour wins, ranks second in men's major championships, and holds numerous golf records. * * * Woods is widely regarded as ...

. Both keep their green jackets, awarded to the winners of the tournament, in the locker. Burke has coached several current PGA Tour stars, including

Phil Mickelson Philip Alfred Mickelson (born June 16, 1970), nicknamed Lefty, is an American professional golfer who plays for LIV Golf. He has won 45 events on the PGA Tour, including six major championships: three Masters titles (2004, 2006, 2010), two ...

, in putting.

Personal life

Burke was first married to Ielene Lang in 1952. His second wife is Robin Moran, an amateur golfer. She was runner-up in the 1997 U.S. Women's Amateur, played in the 1998

Curtis Cup The Curtis Cup is the best known team trophy for women amateur golfers, awarded in the biennial Curtis Cup Match. It is co-organised by the United States Golf Association and The R&A and is contested by teams representing the United States and ...

and was the captain of the American

2016 Curtis Cup The 39th Curtis Cup Match was played from 10 to 12 June 2016 at Dun Laoghaire Golf Club near Enniskerry, Ireland. Great Britain and Ireland won 11 to 8. Bronte Law became the first golfer from Great Britain and Ireland to win 5 matches in a Cur ...

team. She was inducted into the Texas Golf Hall of Fame in 2016. They run the Champions Golf Club together.https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VTKB-P6Y

Professional wins (19)

PGA Tour wins (16)

PGA Tour playoff record (4–4)

Other wins (3)

''Note: This list may be incomplete.'' *1949

*1958

Yomiuri Pro Championship The Yomiuri Professional Championship was a golf tournament that was held in Japan from 1952 to 1961. It was sponsored by the ''Yomiuri Shinbun'' newspaper. The tournament was largely restricted to the top 30 finishers of the most recent Japan O ...

*1967 Texas State Open

Major championships

Wins (2)

Results timeline

''Note: Burke never played in

The Open Championship The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later t ...

.''
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:

Summary

*Most consecutive cuts made – 14 (1951 Masters – 1956 Masters) *Longest streak of top-10s – 3 (1955 U.S. Open – 1956 Masters)

U.S. national team appearances

* Ryder Cup:

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...

(winners),

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito is chosen President of Yug ...

(winners), 1955 (winners),

(playing captain),

1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...