Where Father Left Off

The hottest golfer in this winter's tournament circuit is also the nation's most promising young pro. Jack Burke, a stockily handsome Texan and a golfer for 22 of his 29 years, had won, up to last week, the last three Professional Golf Association contests--the Texas, Houston and Baton Rouge Opens--with his combined scores a dazzling 44 under par. His winnings ($6,720) were tops for 1952.

His name fills oldtimers with nostalgia: Jack Burke Sr. was a pro who came close to glory by tying for second money in the 1920 U.S. Open. Better known as a Texas golf teacher, Burke Sr. died in 1942, failed to see his own son crowd Pro Jimmy Demaret for the honor of being old Jack Burke's most illustrious pupil. Young Jack literally carried on where the elder Burke left off. He qualified for the U.S. Open in 1939--and his father failed to do so for the first time in 25 years.

Quitting Rice Institute to turn pro in 1941, Jack was soon converted into a U.S. Marine judo instructor, spent four years at U.S. camps dreaming of green fairways. In 1948, back to golf, he became head pro at the Metropolis Country Club in White Plains, N.Y. Jack Burke can teach the game as well as he plays it; his trademarks are long giant-arc hitting, delicately accurate iron shots. A confirmed bachelor, he sees "no chance of my getting married. I've got to stay out of that trap until I get some golfing done."

To get some more done, Jack dropped in last week at the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Open and led off in a drizzling rain by firing a scorching 66. But his rivals at the palmetto-fringed Lakewood Country Club course (par: 72) were determined not to let Jack make it four tournaments in a row: the 66 only brought him a four-way tie for low first-round honors. Then, while the others slipped up toward par, Jack stayed down in birdie country. By the last day, though firemen had to put out a small brush fire on the course, Jack was white-hot. He carded another 66, smashed the tournament record with his 72-hole score of 266, eight strokes better than the total of Runner-Up Al Besselink. Pocketing the $2,000 prize for his 22-under-par romp, Burke cocked a calculating eye at next month's prestige-heavy Masters tournament in Augusta, Ga. Said he: "I have hopes of holding my own."

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