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Jack Burke Jr., the oldest living Masters champion who staged the greatest comeback ever at Augusta National for one of his two majors, died Friday morning in Houston. He was 100.
Burke, a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame, also won the PGA Championship and was equally skilled as a teacher. He built the fabled Champions Golf Club in Houston and delivered lessons along with a dose of homespun wisdom.
His passing was confirmed by Steve Timms, the CEO and president of the Houston Golf Association who spoke with Burke’s wife.
Jack Burke, Jr., wearing his championship jacket, with his wife, Eilene, after winning the Masters Golf Tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga., April 8, 1956.
AP Photo/File
A native Texan and World War II veteran, Burke won the PGA Championship and Masters in 1956. The last of his 16 career titles on the PGA Tour came in 1963, but his career was far from over.
He joined another Masters champion, Jimmy Demaret, to found Champions Golf Club in 1957, a club built specifically for good players. It went on to host the Ryder Cup in 1967, the U.S. Open in 1969 and the Tour Championship for three years, the first time in 1999 when Tiger Woods won. Burke and Woods share a locker in the champions room at Augusta National.
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