Around the Green

Teams Set for Jackie Burke Cup

Galveston – The Teams are set and Moody Gardens Golf Course is ready for the 14^th edition of the Jackie Burke Cup Matches on Nov. 10-11.

The North Team has won the last four Jackie Burke Cups and will look to even the all-time series this weekend. Leading the North Team in 2018 is Dallas’ Connor Adams, who finished runner-up in the Boys 15-18 Player of the Year Standings, followed by Temple’s Dallas Hankamer, Argyle’s Gaven Lane, Plano’s Matthew Comegys, Flower Mound’s Rohit Madireddi, Lucas’ Jay Pabin, Lewisville’s Junwoo Park, Dallas’ Mateo Trevino, Dallas’ Hailey Jones, Abilene’s Maddi Olson, Dallas’ Ben Delarosa and Dallas’ Andrew Petruzzelli. Brandon Smith of Frisco is the captain of the North Team.

Adams was a winner at the Flodder Financial Shootout in June, while Matthew Comegys finished runner-up after a one-hole playoff. Hankamer finished runner-up at the Bluebonnet Championship and tied for second at the Jimmy Demaret Junior Classic. Madireddi was victorious at the James A. Ragan Memorial in Corpus Christi, which saw similar weather conditions as Galveston. Lane finished tied for second at the Byron Nelson Junior Championship, while Pabin finished runner-up at the George Hannon Junior Invitational and Park finished runner-up at the North Texas Classic.

Jones is competing in her fifth Jackie Burke Cup. The three-time Girls 12-18 Player of the Year picked up a win at the Fall Challenge last month and a pair of runner-up finishes this season. Olson picked up a win at the Jimmy Demaret Junior Classic earlier this year, while Petruzzelli and Delarosa each recorded four top-5 finishes. Petruzzelli won the Boys 14 & Under player of the Year Award for 2018.

The South Team, which holds a 7-6 lead in the overall series of the Jackie Burke Cup Matches, will look to win for the first time since 2013. Captained by Chandler Phillips, the South Team will consist of Boys 15-18 Player of the Year Thomas Bockholt III of Austin, Jacob Borow of Lake Jackson, Cole Sherwood of Austin, Stephen Campbell Jr. of Richmond, Jacob Sosa of Austin, Vishnu Sadagopan of Pearland, Christian Hernandez of League City, Shochiro Kato of San Antonio, Keaton Vo of Austin, Grant Yerger of Driftwood, Elise Parel of Kingwood and Girls 12-18 Player of the Year Zoe Slaughter of Houston.

Bockholt won twice on tour in 2018, first at the Spring Preview in March and most recently at the Texas Cup Invitational on Nov. 3-4. Borow was a runner-up in two events this year, including the Texas Junior Amateur, which Jacob Sosa won. Sherwood finished tied for third in the Texas Junior Amateur and tied for sixth at the Byron Nelson Junior Championship. Sadagopan finished third at the George Hannon Junior Invitational, while Hernandez tied for second at the Collegiate Preview and Kato tied for seventh at the Texas Junior Amateur.

Slaughter is playing in her second Jackie Burke Cup and her first since winning the Girls 12-18 Player of the Year Award. She is joined by Parel, who finished runner-up in the player of the year standings in the Girls 12-18 Division. Vo and Yerger are representing the Boys 14 & Under Division for the South team and both players won once in 2018.

Moody Gardens Golf Course is hosting the Jackie Burke Cup matches for the first time in tournament history. Players will have to navigate Moody Gardens’ par-72 layout as well as judge the wind direction and speed throughout each round. The course was designed by Peter Jacobsen and Jim Hardy and features a fun layout surrounded by numerous water hazards.

The Jackie Burke Cup matches consist of three rounds with players earning points towards their team’s overall score. Players are divided into a North and South team each year based on where they reside. There are a possible 48 points available during the matches and the North Team will only need 24 to retain the cup while the South Team will need 25 to win.

The matches get underway on Saturday, Nov. 10 with four-ball matches in the morning and quickly followed by foursome matches in the afternoon. The singles matches on Sunday will decide who will win the Jackie Burke Cup in 2018 and which captain will have bragging rights.

For more information on the Jackie Burke Cup Matches, click here.