Golf Mourns Loss of Jackie Burke, Jr.

ELMSFORD, N.Y. (January 19, 2024) -- The golf world lost a legend on Friday with the passing of Jackie Burke, Jr., who spent several of his earliest years as a golf professional in the Met Area and won the 1949 Met Open. Burke, Jr., was 100.

The Texas native grew up around the game, with his father Jack Burke, Sr., being a noted professional in the game himself. Burke, Jr., turned professional in 1941, doing so just months after qualifying for the U.S. Open as an amateur. After serving in the Marines for four years, Burke, Jr., resumed his golf career as a professional at Hollywood Golf Club in Deal, N.J. He then found his way to Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, N.Y., learning under the tutelage of the great Claude Harmon. In 1948, Burke, Jr., became the club professional at Metropolis Country Club in White Plains, N.Y., where he would win the Met Open the following year, besting Gene Sarazen by six shots.

Burke, Jr., produced a stellar career, winning 17 times on the PGA TOUR while amassing impressive accolades such as four-consecutive wins in 1952--a year he won the Vardon Trophy for the season's lowest average of 70.54. His two major victories in The Masters and PGA Championship both came in 1956, when he was selected as Player of the Year. A final round 71 in harsh, cold conditions allowed him to come back from eight shots back to earn his Masters title, while he defeated Ted Kroll by a 3-and-2 margin for his PGA title at Blue Hill Country Club in Canton, Mass.

Burke, Jr., was also a storied Ryder Cup competitor, compiling a 7-1 record while being selected to five teams from 1951-1959. He served as a playing captain in 1957 and captained again in 1973.

Though Burke, Jr., stepped away from professional competition, he remained as impactful as ever in the game, establishing Champions Golf Club in Houston with his life-long friend Jimmy Demarat. Burke, Jr., continued to teach the game at Champions, which has hosted a Ryder Cup (1967), a U.S. Open (1969), a U.S. Amateur (1993), a U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur (2017), and U.S. Women's Open (2020), among other events.

Burke, Jr., is a 2000 inductee into the World Golf Hall of Fame, 2003 recipient of the PGA Tour Lifetime Achievement Award and 2004 honoree of the Bob Jones Award given by the USGA.