Hall of Fame
JACK BURKE JR.
CLASS OF 2019
When Jackie Burke, Jr., starts talking, you listen. And learn.
The Hall of Fame golfer is a throwback. He teaches the game – and life -- in stories and parables – not through technology. He likens a golf swing to putting a baby on a swing, pulling back, and letting it go. He keeps it simple. So simple that it sinks right in.
Burke won both the Masters and PGA Championship in 1956, co-founded Champions Golf Club, which he built with Jimmy Demaret, and is one of the great teachers of the game. He grew up at River Oaks CC, where his father, Jack Burke, Sr., was the head professional. He learned the game and how to teach it from his father and graduated from St. Thomas High School, where he stockpiled some of those parables from the Basilian priests.
Jackie Burke with his HOF presenter Tim FInchim at the 2019 Houston Sports Awards.
Burke won his first professional tournament in 1949 – the Metropolitan Open – and 17 PGA TOUR events, including both major championships in 1956. He played on five Ryder Cups, captained two Ryder Cup teams (1957, 1973), was an assistant captain in 2004, and hosted the 1967 Ryder Cup at Champions.
Jackie Burke with HCHSA Volunteer Bill Scott at the 2019 Houston Sports Hall of Fame Day.
He has helped some of the best in the game – Ben Crenshaw, Phil Mickelson, and Hal Sutton – with their games over the years at Champions, where he and Demaret nurtured their all-golf club, which boasts one of the most significant number of single-digit handicappers in the country.
Watch the introduction of Jackie Burke at the 2019 Houston Sports Awards.
Burke is in the World Golf Hall of Fame, Texas Sports Hall of Fame, and Texas Golf Hall of Fame and brought major events, including the 1967 Ryder Cup and 1969 U.S. Open and big-time events like TOUR Championship and U.S. Amateur, to Champions. He shares a locker with Tiger Woods at Augusta National.
Houston Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2019 in there HOF jackets provided by Knot Standard.
