The founders
Jackie Burke Jr. and Jimmy Demaret founded Champions in 1957 1. Burke, raised in Houston, won the 1956 Masters and PGA Championship; Demaret, a Houston native, won the Masters three times (1940, 1947 and 1950) 24. Burke’s father had been the professional at River Oaks Country Club, and Demaret had been his assistant 4. The club takes its name from a suggestion by Jack Valenti, the Houstonian who later led the Motion Picture Association of America 1.
Two courses
Ralph Plummer’s Cypress Creek course opened in 1959 and George Fazio’s Jackrabbit in 1964 1. Tom Fazio, George’s nephew, updated Jackrabbit in 2002, and Chet Williams led a restoration of Cypress Creek completed in 2018 23.
The championships
Champions hosted the PGA Tour’s Houston Champions International in 1966-68 and 1970-71; Arnold Palmer won the first, and Ben Hogan played his final PGA Tour event there in 1971 12. The 1967 Ryder Cup, captained for the United States by Ben Hogan, ended 23½ to 8½ 2. Orville Moody won the 1969 U.S. Open by one stroke, his only major 3. The TOUR Championship came five times: 1990, 1997, 1999 (Tiger Woods), 2001 and 2003 1. John Harris won the 1993 U.S. Amateur at 41 3. A Lim Kim won the 2020 U.S. Women’s Open, played in December because of COVID-19 35.
The Texas Golf Hall of Fame says Champions is one of only two U.S. courses, with Pinehurst No. 2, to host a men’s and women’s U.S. Open, a Ryder Cup and a TOUR Championship 2. In 2026 the USGA awarded it the 2029 U.S. Senior Women’s Open, 2034 U.S. Mid-Amateur and 2040 U.S. Senior Open 3.
Family ownership
After Demaret died in 1983, Burke became sole owner and was at the club daily for more than 50 years 2. The club passed to the next generation of the Burke family in 2021 (sources differ on the details) 23. Burke died in 2024, days before his 101st birthday 3.
Stories we could not verify
Local accounts say Ben Hogan made a quintuple bogey on Cypress Creek’s par-3 4th in his final tournament. We found it repeated but not documented, so treat it as lore.
Common questions
Is Champions Golf Club public?
No. Champions is a private club. It offers golf and social memberships through an inquiry process and does not publish prices.