Around the Green

Annika Clark and Grace Do Named as Jackie Burke Cup Captains

DALLAS – Annika Clark and Grace Do will square off as captains at the 2019 Jackie Burke Cup at Wichita Falls Country Club on Nov. 9-10.
 
“I am so honored to have been selected as the captain for the South Team,” said Clark, a former LJT stand out who went on to win the 94th Women’s Texas Amateur in 2015. “Playing in the Jackie Burke Cup as a junior was one of my favorite memories from junior golf. It’s a rare experience which makes it so special.”
 
Do echoed Clark with her reaction to being named the captain of the North Team.
 
“It means a lot because I get to do it with Annika,” Do said. “We played against each other in the 2014 Jackie Burke Cup so this is kind of like a rematch.”
 
The 2019 Jackie Burke Cup marks the 15th meeting between the North Team and South Team. Last year, the North Team won its fifth consecutive match at Moody Gardens Golf Course to even up the overall record 7-7. 
 
The Jackie Burke Cup consists of three rounds of matches as teams of 12 players tee off against each other. Matches are worth two points and a tied match is split: one point for each team.  The matches start with six Four-Ball matches Saturday morning followed by 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.
 
Do is the captain of the North Team and competed in the 2014 Jackie Burke Cup at Champions Golf Club. She helped the North to a 27-21 victory and the first of five straight Jackie Burke Cup victories. Do won the 2014 Lanny Wadkins Junior Championship after rounds of 69-71 at Gentle Creek Golf Club and she finished solo third at the 2014 Texas Girls’ Invitational.
 
“I think we all really enjoyed LJT tournaments because it was great to always see the same people and it made junior golf competitive and fun,” Do said.
 
The junior at Texas Christian University competed alongside Clark for two seasons. Do played in all 11 tournaments for the Horned Frogs last season as a sophomore. After her freshman year, she earned Academic All-Big 12 Rookie Team honors.
 
Clark will be captaining the South Team. The recent TCU grad also competed in the 2014 Jackie Burke Cup. The future teammates at TCU faced off in Four-Ball, Foursome and Singles Matches. Clark won two of the three matches versus Do, including a 2-and-1 victory in Singles. Clark was a three-time winner on the LJT. She claimed titles at the 2014 Jimmy Demaret Classic and 2014 LJT Winter Classic. Clark was also the 86th Texas Junior Amateur Champion in 2013 after a final round 1-under 71 at Horseshoe Bay Resort’s Slick Rock Course secured a three-shot victory over Julia Beck.
 
“The Legends Junior Tour in my opinion is one of the best run tours for junior players,” Clark said. “I know that competing in their tournaments helped me become the player I am today.”
 
Clark continued her great play throughout her amateur career as a four-year letterman for TCU. In addition to her Women’s Texas Amateur victory in 2015, she was recognized twice as First-Team Academic All-Big 12 and awarded 2019 Big 12 Women’s Golf Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Clark’s final season stroke average of 74.62 ranks No. 1 in TCU history. And just months before turning professional, Clark added a second TGA Major Championship to her resume with a win at the 2019 Women’s Stroke Play Championship at Briggs Ranch Golf Club.
 
This year’s Jackie Burke Cup will be contested at Wichita Falls Country Club. The course will host the matches for the first time and join a distinguished list of clubs including Champions Golf Club, Whispering Pines Golf Club, Brook Hollow Golf Club, Spanish Oaks Golf Club, Bent Tree Country Club, Miramont Golf Club, Escondido Golf Club and Traditions Club.
 
From its humble start in 1914 as a homemade nine-hole course, Wichita Falls Country Club has evolved into one of the region’s foremost country clubs. At its center is a classic parkland course that was completely renovated in 2008 by D.A. Weibring and Steve Wolford. The respected architectural team added length, altered target zones and improved green contours to modernize the traditional design that challenges players of all skill levels.
 
Players are selected to the Jackie Burke Cup teams based on their play on the Legends Junior Tour and throughout the Texas Junior Golf Alliance. Each team consists of eight players from the Boys 15-18 Division, two from the Boys 14 & Under Division and two from the Girls 12-18 Division. 
 
There will be a banquet for players on Friday, Nov. 8, when pairings for Saturday morning will be announced along with the 2019 Player of the Year awards and the James A. Ragan Sportsman of the Year. For more information on the Jackie Burke Cup Matches, click here.