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 third year in the events history and takes place in Houston, Texas.
Top AJGA Player
Jay Leng Jr., No. 3 in the Rolex AJGA Rankings, is the top player in the field. This year so far, Leng Jr. finished top-10 in all four AJGA events and won the Polo Golf Junior Classic played at Bethpage State Park's Black Course. The San Diego, California native has four AJGA wins under his belt and will be competing in his sixth invitational this 2023 campaign.
Field Strength
Some of the top juniors from around the world, travel to Houston for the event. About 71 percent of this year’s Jack Burke Jr. Invitational field is ranked in the top 150 of the Rolex AJGA Rankings. Not only do the juniors come from far and wide, the talent also comes from a wide variety of ages. Ranked players from each class according to the Rolex AJGA Rankings are below:
- Class of 2023: four of the top-100
- Class of 2024: nine of the top-100
- Class of 2025: 12 of the top-100
- Class of 2026: five of the top-100
Texas Natives
Some of the top junior golfers in Texas will play in the 2023 Jack Burke Jr. Invitational. All gained entry through the same eligibility standards as the field. The top-100 Rolex Ranked Texas golfers are listed with the high school graduation, hometown, and Rolex AJGA Ranking:
- Aaron Pounds (2023) of The Woodlands - No. 16
- Henry Guan (2026) of Dallas - No. 18
- Rex Hargrove (2023) of Houston - No. 36
- Brooks Simmons (2025) of Dallas - No. 55
- Nathan Miller (2025) of Dallas - No. 71
- Sterling Hurd (2026) of Austin - No. 82
Future SEC Players in the Field
Nine Jack Burke Jr. Invitational golfers are committed to play college golf in the Southeastern Conference (including University of Texas at Austin and University of Oklahoma who are each set to join the SEC in 2024.) They are listed below with high school graduation and school. Those with a (v) are verbally committed:
- Aaron Pounds (2023) Texas A&M University
- Rex Hargrove (2023) University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
- Parker Sands (2024) University of Florida (v)
- Clark Van Gaalen (2024) University of Oklahoma (v)
- Asher Whitaker (2024) University of Oklahoma (v)
- Christian Pardue (2024) University of Tennessee (v)
- Eduardo Derbez Torres (2024) University of Texas at Austin (v)
- Bowen Ballis (2024) Vanderbilt University (v)
- Ryan Downes (2024) Vanderbilt University (v)
International Players
10 of the 72 golfers in the Jack Burke Jr. Invitational represent six international countries. Those golfers are listed below with the country they represent and their current hometown, if applicable:
- Dylan Bingwen Ma of Jacksonville, Florida (China)
- Boyi (Barry) Zhang of Lake Mary, Florida (China)
- Zhengqian Li of West Covina, California (China)
- Francisco Solorza Gutierrez of Guadalajara, Mexico
- Patricio Gonzalez of Monterrey, Mexico
- Eduardo Derbez Torres of Monterrey, Mexico
- Stephen Liu of Auckland, New Zealand
- Supapon Amornchaichan of Bangkok, Thailand
- Mykhalio Golod of Davenport, Florida (Ukraine)
- Ieuan Jones of Ann Arbor, Michigan (United Kingdom)
2022 Tournament Recap
Smith Summerlin of Raleigh, North Carolina won the 2022 Jack Burke Jr. Invitational by five strokes over Ethan Gao of Alpharetta, Georgia. Summerlin finished 12-under-par 201 with 19 birdies throughout the week.
The 2022 Second team All-American has participated in two other invitationals this year and finished in the top-10 for the 2023 Polo Golf Junior Classic. Summerlin is returning to Champions Golf Club - Cypress Creek for this year's Jack Burke Jr. Invitational.
Players to Watch
Of the 50 AJGA champions competing, a few highlights:
Smith Summerlin of Raleigh, North Carolina, is the defending Jack Burke Jr. Invitational champion. The 2022 Second-Team All American most recently finished T9 at Polo Golf Junior Classic.
Jay Leng Jr. of San Diego, California, has three AJGA wins since 2022, including the 2023 Polo Golf Junior Classic. The Stanford commit finished T5 at the 2022 Jack Burke Jr. invitational.
Aaron Pounds of The Woodlands, Texas, is No. 16 in the Rolex AJGA Rankings. The Texas A&M commit last played the Jack Burke Jr. Invitational in 2021, notching a T4 finish.
Coltrane Mittag of Ashland, Nebraska, has had a few strong performances so far this season. The 15-year-old is in search of his first AJGA win and coming off a T3 finish at Under Armour® / Jordan Spieth Championship presented by Invited.
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
3 Jay Leng Jr. of San Diego, California
16 Aaron Pounds of The Woodlands, Texas
18 Henry Guan of Dallas, Texas
20 Joshua Kim of Daville, California
32 Boyi (Barry) Zhang of (China) Lake Mary, Florida
36 Rex Hargrove of Houston, Texas
37 Smith Summerlin of Raleigh, North Carolina
42 Coltrane Mittag of Ashland, Nebraska
45 Michael Riebe of Encinitas, California
53 Carson Bertagnole of Pinehurst, North Carolina
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