Billy Burke (golfer)

Billy Burke
Personal information
Full name	William John Burke
Born	(1902-12-14)December 14, 1902 Naugatuck, Connecticut
Died	April 19, 1972(1972-04-19) (aged 69) Clearwater, Florida
Height	5 ft 11.5 in (1.82 m)
Weight	172 lb (78 kg; 12.3 st)
Nationality	United States
Career
Status	Professional
Former tour(s)	PGA Tour
Professional wins	17
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour	13
Other	4
Best results in major championships (wins: 1)
Masters Tournament	T3: 1934, 1939
U.S. Open	Won: 1931
The Open Championship	DNP
PGA Championship	T3: 1931

William John Burke, Burkauskas (polonized Burkowski) (December 14, 1902 – April 19, 1972) was a prominent Lithuanian-American professional golfer of the 1920s and 1930s.

Burke was born in Naugatuck, Connecticut. 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. He was also selected for the 1933 Ryder Cup team but not before some agitation by Gene Sarazen was done on his behalf.^[1] Burke won his only match in the 1933 competition.

Burke's 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.

Throughout Burke's golf career he used an unorthodox grip due to the loss of two fingers on his left hand.^[2] In 2005, Burke was inducted into the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame.^[3] Burke died in Clearwater, Florida, in 1972.

Professional wins (17)

PGA Tour wins (13)

• 1927 (2) Florida Open, 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 International Four-Ball (with Craig Wood)

Major championship is shown in bold.

Other wins (4)

this list may be incomplete

• 1938 Ohio Open
• 1939 Ohio Open
• 1945 Ohio Open
• 1955 Ohio Open

Major championships

Wins (1)

Year	Championship	54 holes	Winning score	Margin	Runner-up
1931	U.S. Open	2 shot deficit	+8 (73-72-74-73=292)	Playoff 1	George Von Elm

¹ Defeated George Von Elm in a playoff. First 36-hole playoff - Burke 73-76=149 (+7), Von Elm 75-74=149 (+7). Second 36-hole playoff - Burke 71-77=148 (+6), Von Elm 76-73=149 (+7).

Results timeline

Note: Burke never played in The Open Championship.
NYF = Tournament not yet founded
NT = No tournament
DNP = Did not play
WD = Withdrew
CUT = missed the half-way cut
R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in PGA Championship match play
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10

Summary

• Most consecutive cuts made – 12 (1934 Masters – 1938 Masters)
• Longest streak of top-10s – 3 (1931 U.S. Open – 1932 U.S. Open)

See also

• List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins

References

Billy Burke in the Ryder Cup
United States Ryder Cup team – 1931 Billy Burke Wiffy Cox Leo Diegel Al Espinosa Johnny Farrell Gene Sarazen Denny Shute Horton Smith Craig Wood Walter Hagen (playing captain) Won: 9 – 3 United States Ryder Cup team – 1933 Billy Burke Leo Diegel Ed Dudley Olin Dutra Paul Runyan Gene Sarazen Denny Shute Horton Smith Craig Wood Walter Hagen (playing captain) Lost: 5.5 – 6.5