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William John "Billy" Burke, born Burkowski (December 14, 1902 – April 19, 1972) was a prominent American golfer of the 1930s. His greatest season was 1931, when he won the U.S. Open, reached the semi-finals of the PGA Championship, and won four events on the professional circuit, plus appeared on the Ryder Cup team where he was undefeated in two matches. Subsequently he was selected for the 1933 Ryder Cup team and won his only match. His 1931 U.S. Open win came in a marathon playoff. He and George Von Elm were tied at 292 (8 over par) after regulation play. They played a 36-hole playoff the next day and tied again at 149 (7 over par). The following day they played 36 more holes and Burke emerged victorious 148 to 149. He was born in Naugatuck, Connecticut and died in Clearwater, Florida.
[edit] PGA Tour wins (13)
- 1927 (2) Florida Open Championship, Central Florida Open
- 1928 (1) North and South Open
- 1929 (2) New York State Open, Glens Falls Open
- 1930 (1) Mid South Open
- 1931 (2) U.S. Open, Glens Falls Open
- 1932 (1) Florida West Coast Open
- 1935 (1) The Cascades Open
- 1936 (1) Centennial Open
- 1939 (1) Walter Hagen 25th Anniversary (with Ed Dudley)
- 1940 (1) Miami-Biltmore Four-Ball (with Craig Wood)
Major championship is shown in bold.
[edit] Results in major championships
NYF = Tournament not yet founded
NT = No tournament
DNP = Did not play
WD = Withdrew
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10
[edit] See also
