Around the Green

Smith, Phillips Captain Jackie Burke Cup Teams

Dallas – A pair of current college teammates at Texas A&M University, Brandon Smith and Chandler Phillips, will square off as captains in the 2018 Jackie Burke Cup Matches at Moody Gardens Golf Course on Nov. 10-11.

The North Team has won the last four Jackie Burke Cup Matches and will look to even up the overall record with a win in 2018. The South Team boasts a 7-6 record in the matches, but is looking for its first win since 2013.

The Jackie Burke Cup Matches consist of three rounds of matches as teams of 12 players tee off against each other. Matches are each worth two points and a tied match after 18 holes is split to one point for each team.  The matches start with six Four-ball matches on Saturday morning and then head right into six Foursome matches in the afternoon. On Sunday, players are selected for 12 Singles Matches, leaving 48 possible points to be earned on the weekend. The North Team will need 24 points to retain the cup, while the South Team will need 25 points to win the cup.

Smith will be captaining the North Team and is a two-time member of the team in the matches, which includes earning six points in 2014 as the North Team won 27-21. The Frisco native won the Boys 15-18 Player of the Year honors in 2013 and has a 5-1-0 record in the Jackie Burke Cup. His lone win on the Legends Junior Tour was at the Winter Classic in 2014. At Texas A&M, Smith is a Junior and earned honorable mention PING All-American honors last year. He played in 12 events as a sophomore, including a tie for 11^th place at the NCAA Championship, which led his team and helped to advance to match play.

Phillips is the captain of the South Team and was a member of the team the last time it defeated the North. The three-time winner on the Legends Junior Tour boasts a 6-3-0 record in the Jackie Burke Cup Matches, including a 5-1-0 record in matches the South Team won in 2013 and 2012. The senior at Texas A&M has six career wins for the Aggies, which is a record for career wins at the school. He has received First-Team PING All-American honors along with being named a First-Team All-SEC performer. Phillips has been a member of the All-Nicklaus Team along with being a semifinalist for the Division I Jack Nicklaus National Player of the Year Award and has been chosen to represent the United States at the Palmer Cup.  

The two current teammates squared off three times in the Jackie Burke Cup Matches. In 2013, Phillips teamed up with Max Miller, who is also on the Texas A&M Golf Team, to beat Smith and Blaine Hale Jr., who captained the North Team to victory in 2017, 1-up in the Foursome matches. Smith bounced back in 2014, playing with Ryan Grider to earn four points off Phillips and Miller in the Four-Ball and Foursome matches at Champions Golf Club. Smith holds a 2-1-0 record against Phillips in the Jackie Burke Cup Matches.

This year’s matches will be contested at Moody Gardens Golf Course in Galveston, Texas. The course will host the matches for the first time and join a distinguished list of clubs like Champions Golf Club, Whispering Pines Golf Club, Brook Hollow Golf Club, Spanish Oaks Golf Club, Bent Tree Country Club, Escondido Golf and Lake Club, Traditions Club and Miramont Golf Club. Moody Gardens was designed by PGA Tour Professionals Peter Jacobsen and Jim Hardy and the par-72 course is tested with winds from the Gulf of Mexico and water surrounding each hole. Players will be tested to find the fairways and hit the greens with creativity while surviving the elements.

Players are selected to the Jackie Burke Cup teams based on their play on the Legends Junior Tour and through the Texas Junior Golf Alliance in 2018. Teams consist of eight players from the Boys 15-18 Division, two from the Boys 14 & Under Division and two from the Girls 12-18 Division. Players earned points through finishes at events this year on the Player of the Year Standings, which determines the teams each year.

There will be a banquet for players on Friday, Nov. 9, when pairings for Saturday morning will be announced along with the Player of the Year awards and the James A. Ragan Sportsman of the Year.  Match scores will be kept on the Legends Junior Tour site and updated throughout each round. For more information on the Jackie Burke Cup Matches, click here.