The Jack Burke Jr. Invitational returns to Champions Golf Club to bring 72 of the top-ranked boys in the Rolex AJGA Rankings to compete in a 54 hole, stroke play tournament.
This will be the 2nd year in the event’s history in Houston, Texas, and the second time that Champions Golf Club has hosted the tournament.
Top AJGA Player
Andrew Ramos, No. 19 in the Rolex AJGA Rankings, is the top player in the field. During the 2021 campaign, Ramos finished top-10 in four AJGA events and won the GreatLIFE Junior Challenge by Sanford Health at 10-under-par 203. The Blaine, Minnesota native has finished top-20 in four AJGA events this summer and will be competing in his fourth invitational this 2022 campaign.
Field Strength
After graduating from high school, many junior golfers begin their transition to college golf by playing amateur events and their final junior tournaments. About 84 percent of this year’s Jack Burke Jr. Invitational field is made up of rising seniors, juniors, and sophomores. Ranked players from each class according to the Rolex AJGA Rankings are below:
- Class of 2022: five of the top-100
- Class of 2023: five of the top-50
- Class of 2024: eight of the top-100
- Class of 2025: two of the top-100
Texas Natives
Some of the top junior golfers in Texas will play in the 2022 Jack Burke Jr. Invitational. All gained entry through the same eligibility standards as the field. Texas golfers are listed with the high school graduation, hometown, and August 3rd Rolex AJGA Ranking:
- Carson Cooper (2022) of Spring – No. 58
- Xing Luo (2022) of Katy – No. 61
- Matthew Foster (2023) of Dallas – No. 71
- Jack Usner (2023) The Woodlands – No. 76
Future SEC Players in the Field
Seven Jack Burke Jr. Invitational golfers are committed to play college golf in the Southeastern Conference. They are listed below with high school graduation and school. Those with a (v) are verbally committed:
- Erik Plenge (2022) University of Arkansas (v)
- Rylan Shim (2023) University of Florida (v)
- Camden Smith (2023) Mississippi State
- Jack Usner (2023) Texas A&M University (v)
- Rex Hargrove (2023) University of Arkansas (v)
- Jack Turner (2023) University of Florida (v)
- Jay Mendell (2023) Louisiana State University (v)
International Players
Seven of the 72 golfers in the Jack Burke Jr. Invitational represent four foreign countries. Those golfers are listed below with the country they represent and their current hometown, if applicable:
- Nicolas Dominguez Alvarez of Winter Garden, Florida (Mexico)
- Matvey Golovanov of Boca Raton, Florida (Russian Federation)
- Jaeyoung (Jeffrey) Kwak of La Mirada, Calif. (South Korea)
- Alex Long of Lakewood Ranch, Florida (Canada)
- Xing Luo of Katy, Texas (China)
- Erik Plenge, Lima, Peru
- Yinxuan Wu of Dongguan, China
2021 Tournament Recap
Jackson Koivun of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, won the inaugural Jack Burke Jr. Invitational by 2 strokes over Carson Brewer of Jacksonville, Florida, and Keaton Vo of Austin, Texas, at 6-under-par 207. Koivun shot 13 birdies and one eagle throughout the tournament.
The 2021 first team Rolex Junior All-American has competed in four AJGA events this summer. Some of his highlights include finishing fourth in the Wyndham Invitational presented by Truist. The Chapel Hill, North Carolina resident is verbally committed to Auburn University.
Players to Watch
Of the 47 players who have won an AJGA event, a few highlights:
Andrew Ramos of Blaine, Minnesota, won the 2021 GreatLIFE Junior Challenge by Sanford Health. Ramos is looking for his first win of the summer.
Carson Kim of Yorba Linda, California, finished top-3 in the 2022 Sergio and Angela Garcia Foundation Junior Championship. The University of Southern California commit is in search of his first win of the summer.
Camden Smith of Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, won the 2021 Circle K Junior Championship hosted by Otter Creek. The Mississippi State University commit is in search of his first AJGA invitational win.
Sihao Cong of Irvine, California, Finished top-2 in the 2021 Ping An Bank Open Championship. The University of California, Berkeley will be playing his second invitational this summer.
About the Course
- Designed by Ralph Plummer
- Amateur golf and the members of Champions Golf Club were the focus when it came to the restoration efforts on the Cypress Creek course
- With beautiful trees, wide fairways and enormous greens it is one of America's premier tournament sites
Since opening its courses in 1957, Champions has been proud to host many national events. They include:
- 1967 Ryder Cup
- 1969 U.S. Open
- 1993 U.S. Amateur
- 1998, 2017 U.S. Women's Mid Amateur
- 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003 PGA Tour Championship
- 2020 U.S. Women's Open Championship
10 of the Top Players from the Rolex AJGA Rankings
19 Andrew Ramos of Blaine, Minnesota
24 Carson Kim of Yorba Linda, California
38 Camden Smith of Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida
43 Sihao Cong of Irvine, California
44 Will Hartman of Marvin, North Carolina
48 Ethan Gao of Alpharetta, Georgia
50 Logan Kim of La Canada Flintridge, California
52 Hans Risvaer of Miami, Florida
53 Warren Thomis of Richmond, Kentucky
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