Walter Burkemo

Walter Burkemo
Walter Burkemo
Allegiance	United States
Service / branch	U.S. Army
Rank	Sergeant
Battles / wars	World War II, European Theater; Battle of the Bulge
Awards	Purple Heart (2)

Walter Burkemo
Walter Burkemo
	Burkemo, circa 1953
Personal information
Full name	Walter E. Burkemo
Born	October 9, 1918; Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Died	October 8, 1986 (aged 67); Fenton, Michigan, U.S.
Sporting nationality	United States
Career
Turned professional	Professional
Former tour(s)	PGA Tour
Professional wins	8
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour	2
Other	6
Best results in major championships; (wins: 1)
Masters Tournament	T6: 1960
PGA Championship	Won: 1953
U.S. Open	T4: 1957
The Open Championship	DNP

Walter E. Burkemo (October 9, 1918 – October 8, 1986) was an American professional golfer, best known for winning the PGA Championship in 1953.

Born in Detroit, Michigan, Burkemo was the youngest of 13 children of Norwegian immigrants who settled there. He began in golf at the age of 8 by caddying at Lochmoor Country Club in Detroit. Burkemo won his first title in 1938 at the Southern Florida Open; however, World War II intervened soon thereafter and he found himself drafted into the U.S. Army. Burkemo served in the infantry as a sergeant in the European Theater. He was seriously wounded twice, earning two Purple Hearts,^[2] the second time during the Battle of the Bulge.

Burkemo resumed his PGA Tour career after recovering from his injuries. He had little success in the late 1940s; but in 1951, his luck began to change when he won his first of four Michigan Opens.^[3] His best years in professional golf were in the early 1950s; he won the PGA Championship in 1953 and was runner-up in 1951 and 1954. Although he was one of the most consistent top-10 finishers on the tour, he would go on to win only one more event, the Mayfair Inn Open in 1957. He was a member of the Ryder Cup team in 1953.

The 1953 PGA Championship was played in July at Birmingham Country Club in Birmingham, Michigan, only six miles (10 km) from the Franklin Hills Country Club where Burkemo was club pro. He benefited from a so-called "home field advantage" because during the match play era, the PGA Championship was a marathon of double rounds for five straight days. The week began with 36 holes of qualifying on Wednesday and Thursday, followed by six matches – two rounds at 18 holes each on Friday and the last four rounds at 36 holes, concluding with the final on Tuesday.^[3] He also benefited from the fact that Ben Hogan, the reigning Masters and U.S. Open champion, was in Scotland to practice and qualify for the British Open, which started the day after the PGA Championship final match. In an era without any exemptions, the British Open's mandatory 36-hole qualifier immediately preceded the competition on Monday and Tuesday, during the semifinals and finals of the PGA.^[4] (After his automobile accident in 1949, Hogan did not enter the PGA Championship until 1960, then a stroke play event.) Burkemo's toughest match en route to the final against Felice Torza was in the semifinals against 1948 Masters champion Claude Harmon. Burkemo was 3 down after 11 holes but rallied and birdied the 36th hole to win 1 up.^[3]^[5]

After the 1954 season, Burkemo returned to life as a club pro because the grind of the PGA Tour was proving too difficult for him to maintain with a wife and four children. He continued to play the tour part-time for the rest of his career. He and his brother Vic opened Burkemo's driving range in St. Clair Shores.

Burkemo was inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame and the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame. He died in Fenton a day before his 68th birthday.^[3]

Professional wins (8)

PGA Tour wins (2)

Legend
Major championships (1)
Other PGA Tour (1)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	Jul 7, 1953	PGA Championship	2 and 1		Felice Torza
2	Dec 15, 1957	Mayfair Inn Open	−11 (70-65-66-68=269)	1 stroke	Jay Hebert, Ed Oliver

Sources:^[6]^[7]

Other wins (6)

this list is probably incomplete

1938 Southern Florida Open
1951 Michigan Open
1955 Michigan Open, Michigan PGA Championship
1957 Michigan Open
1970 Michigan Open

Major championships

Wins (1)

Year	Championship	Winning score	Runner-up
1953	PGA Championship	2 & 1	Felice Torza

Note: The PGA Championship was match play until 1958

Results timeline

Tournament	1937	1938	1939
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open	CUT
PGA Championship

Tournament	1942	1943	1944	1945
Masters Tournament		NT	NT	NT
U.S. Open	NT	NT	NT	NT
PGA Championship		NT

Tournament	1950	1951	1952	1953	1954	1955	1956	1957	1958	1959
Masters Tournament			T42		T22	T15	T17	CUT	CUT	T22
U.S. Open	T36	CUT		T40	CUT	CUT	T29	T4	T5	WD
PGA Championship		2	R16	1	2	R64	R16	3	T16	T17

Tournament	1960	1961	1962	1963	1964	1965	1966	1967	1968
Masters Tournament	T6	T11	CUT	T43	CUT
U.S. Open	T49	CUT		T8	CUT		T22
PGA Championship	T24	14	T39	CUT	T17	T41	CUT	CUT	CUT

Tournament	1970	1971
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open
PGA Championship	CUT	CUT

Note: Burkemo never played in The Open Championship

Win

Top 10

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

Summary

Tournament	Wins	2nd	3rd	Top-5	Top-10	Top-25	Events	Cuts made
Masters Tournament	0	0	0	0	1	6	12	8
U.S. Open	0	0	0	2	3	4	14	8
The Open Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
PGA Championship	1	2	1	4	6	11	20	14
Totals	1	2	1	6	10	21	46	30

Most consecutive cuts made – 6 (1951 PGA – 1954 Masters)
Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (1957 U.S. Open – 1957 PGA)

U.S. national team appearances

Ryder Cup: 1953 (winners)
Hopkins Trophy: 1954 (winners)

References

^ Barkow, Al (November 1989). The History of the PGA TOUR. Doubleday. p. 254. ISBN 0-385-26145-4.
^ Sell, Jack (July 2, 1951). "It's been a tight squeeze for Burkemo all the way". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 16.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "In Ben's Shadow". Golf Digest. Archived from the original on November 9, 2004. Retrieved July 31, 2006.
^ "Burkemo Wins P.G.A. - Locke Paces British Qualifiers". Montreal Gazette. Associated Press. July 8, 1953. p. 21. Retrieved January 2, 2013.
^ "Burkemo, Torza Win Way Into P.G.A. Final Round". Montreal Gazette. Associated Press. July 7, 1953. p. 17. Retrieved January 2, 2013.
^ Grimsley, William (July 8, 1953). "Walter Burkemo, 1951 Runner-Up, Beats Felice Torza, 2 & 1, for PGA Title". Youngstown Vindicator. Associated Press. p. 20.
^ "Burkemo Is Golf Winner". Youngstown Vindicator. December 16, 1957. p. 15.

External links

Walter Burkemo at the PGA Tour official site

[1] Barkow, Al (November 1989). The History of the PGA TOUR. Doubleday. p. 254. ISBN 0-385-26145-4.

[2] Sell, Jack (July 2, 1951). "It's been a tight squeeze for Burkemo all the way". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 16.

[gd-3] "In Ben's Shadow". Golf Digest. Archived from the original on November 9, 2004. Retrieved July 31, 2006.

[mg53pgafin-4] "Burkemo Wins P.G.A. - Locke Paces British Qualifiers". Montreal Gazette. Associated Press. July 8, 1953. p. 21. Retrieved January 2, 2013.

[mg53pgasem-5] "Burkemo, Torza Win Way Into P.G.A. Final Round". Montreal Gazette. Associated Press. July 7, 1953. p. 17. Retrieved January 2, 2013.

[pgac-6] Grimsley, William (July 8, 1953). "Walter Burkemo, 1951 Runner-Up, Beats Felice Torza, 2 & 1, for PGA Title". Youngstown Vindicator. Associated Press. p. 20.

[mio-7] "Burkemo Is Golf Winner". Youngstown Vindicator. December 16, 1957. p. 15.

[1]

v t e PGA Championship champions
Match play era	1916 Jim Barnes 1919 Jim Barnes 1920 Jock Hutchison 1921 Walter Hagen 1922 Gene Sarazen 1923 Gene Sarazen 1924 Walter Hagen 1925 Walter Hagen 1926 Walter Hagen 1927 Walter Hagen 1928 Leo Diegel 1929 Leo Diegel 1930 Tommy Armour 1931 Tom Creavy 1932 Olin Dutra 1933 Gene Sarazen 1934 Paul Runyan 1935 Johnny Revolta 1936 Denny Shute 1937 Denny Shute 1938 Paul Runyan 1939 Henry Picard 1940 Byron Nelson 1941 Vic Ghezzi 1942 Sam Snead 1944 Bob Hamilton 1945 Byron Nelson 1946 Ben Hogan 1947 Jim Ferrier 1948 Ben Hogan 1949 Sam Snead 1950 Chandler Harper 1951 Sam Snead 1952 Jim Turnesa 1953 Walter Burkemo 1954 Chick Harbert 1955 Doug Ford 1956 Jack Burke Jr. 1957 Lionel Hebert
Stroke play era	1958 Dow Finsterwald 1959 Bob Rosburg 1960 Jay Hebert 1961 Jerry Barber† 1962 Gary Player 1963 Jack Nicklaus 1964‡ Bobby Nichols 1965 Dave Marr 1966 Al Geiberger 1967 Don January† 1968 Julius Boros 1969‡ Raymond Floyd 1970 Dave Stockton 1971 Jack Nicklaus 1972 Gary Player 1973 Jack Nicklaus 1974 Lee Trevino 1975 Jack Nicklaus 1976 Dave Stockton 1977 Lanny Wadkins† 1978 John Mahaffey† 1979 David Graham† 1980 Jack Nicklaus 1981 Larry Nelson 1982‡ Raymond Floyd 1983‡ Hal Sutton 1984 Lee Trevino 1985 Hubert Green 1986 Bob Tway 1987 Larry Nelson† 1988 Jeff Sluman 1989 Payne Stewart 1990 Wayne Grady 1991 John Daly 1992 Nick Price 1993 Paul Azinger† 1994 Nick Price 1995 Steve Elkington† 1996 Mark Brooks† 1997 Davis Love III 1998 Vijay Singh 1999 Tiger Woods 2000‡ Tiger Woods† 2001 David Toms 2002 Rich Beem 2003 Shaun Micheel 2004 Vijay Singh† 2005 Phil Mickelson 2006 Tiger Woods 2007 Tiger Woods 2008 Pádraig Harrington 2009 Y. E. Yang 2010 Martin Kaymer† 2011 Keegan Bradley† 2012 Rory McIlroy 2013 Jason Dufner 2014 Rory McIlroy 2015 Jason Day 2016 Jimmy Walker 2017 Justin Thomas 2018 Brooks Koepka 2019 Brooks Koepka 2020 Collin Morikawa 2021 Phil Mickelson 2022 Justin Thomas† 2023 Brooks Koepka 2024‡ Xander Schauffele
† indicates the event was won in a playoff; ‡ indicates the event was won wire-to-wire; 1943 cancelled due to World War II