The 1939 Open Championship was the 74th

Open Championship The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...

, held 5–7 July at the Old Course in

St Andrews St Andrews ( la, S. Andrea(s); sco, Saunt Aundraes; gd, Cill Rìmhinn) is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fou ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. Dick Burton won his only

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

title, two strokes ahead of runner-up

Johnny Bulla John Guthrie Bulla (June 2, 1914 – December 7, 2003) was an American professional golfer. Born in Newell, West Virginia, Bulla played on the PGA Tour, winning the 1941 Los Angeles Open, and finished runner-up three times in the majors, incl ...

. The purse was £500 with a winner's share of £100. It was the last Open played for seven years, due to

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Qualifying took place on 3–4 July, Monday and Tuesday, with 18 holes on the Old Course and 18 holes on the New Course. As in the previous year, the number of qualifiers was limited to a maximum of 130, and ties for 130th place did not qualify. For the first time a prize of £20 was awarded to the professional with the lowest qualifying score. Amateur

Jimmy Bruen James Francis O’Grady Bruen (8 May 1920 – 3 May 1972) was an Irish amateur golfer. He won the 1946 Amateur Championship and was in the British Walker Cup team in 1938, 1949 and 1951. He is regarded as one of Ireland's leading amateur golfers. ...

led the qualifiers on 138 with Henry Cotton next on 142; the qualifying score was 156 and 129 players advanced. Despite taking an eight at the 14th hole,

Bobby Locke Arthur D'Arcy "Bobby" Locke (20 November 1917 – 9 March 1987) was a South African professional golfer. He is generally regarded as one of the greatest golfers of all time. He won The Open Championship four times and 15 PGA Tour events in total ...

opened the championship on Wednesday with a round of 70 (−3), tying Burton for the lead. In the second round on Thursday, Locke again found trouble on 14, and after a ball out of bounds fell out of the lead. The maximum number of players making the cut after 36 holes was increased from 40 to 44, and ties for 44th place did not make the cut. Eleven players tied for 35th place, so only 34 players made the cut. John Fallon was the surprise leader after 54 holes by two shots, but he could not cope with the strong winds and fell back to 3rd place with a final round 79 (+6). Bulla, the only American to make the 36-hole cut, began the final round on Friday afternoon four strokes behind Fallon. At the second hole, he hooked his drive over the parallel 17th fairway and into a railway yard; he finished with a round of even-par 73 and established a clubhouse lead of at even par 292. Burton, setting out just as Bulla was finishing, needed a 72 to win the title and came to the 18th needing a par four. He hit a drive over , pitched to , then holed the birdie putt for a win. The previous three Opens at St Andrews had been won by Americans; Burton was the first Briton to win the Open at the Old Course since 1910, won by James Braid of Scotland. Since Burton's 1939 win, the sole British winner at St Andrews was

Nick Faldo Sir Nicholas Alexander Faldo, (born 18 July 1957) is an English retired professional golfer and television commentator. A top player of his era, renowned for his dedication to the game, he was ranked No. 1 on the Official World Golf Ranking for ...

of England in

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

. Burton enlisted in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

shortly after his win. This was the last Open for seven years, until

1946 Events January * January 6 - The 1946 North Vietnamese parliamentary election, first general election ever in Vietnam is held. * January 7 – The Allies recognize the Austrian republic with its 1937 borders, and divide the country into f ...

;

started in September 1939 and the championship was canceled through 1945. Birkdale Golf Club was scheduled as the venue for the 1940 championship, its first, but did not host until

1954 Events January * January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany. * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The fir ...

Course

^ The 10th hole was posthumously named for Bobby Jones in 1972

Past champions in the field

Made the cut

Source: All past champions in the field made the cut. Did not advance past qualifying rounds (Monday & Tuesday): *

Sandy Herd Alexander "Sandy" Herd (24 April 1868 – 18 February 1944) was a Scottish professional golfer from St Andrews. He won The Open Championship in 1902 at Hoylake. Early life Born in St Andrews, Scotland, on 24 April 1868, to a golfing family, H ...

( 1902) 161, James Braid (

1901 Events January * January 1 – The Crown colony, British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria (Australia), Victoria and Western Australia Federation of Australia, federate as the Australia, ...

1905 As the second year of the massive Russo-Japanese War begins, more than 100,000 die in the largest world battles of that era, and the war chaos leads to the 1905 Russian Revolution against Nicholas II of Russia (Shostakovich's 11th Symphony i ...

1906 Events January–February * January 12 – Persian Constitutional Revolution: A nationalistic coalition of merchants, religious leaders and intellectuals in Persia forces the shah Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar to grant a constitution, ...

, 1908, 1910) 162, George Duncan (

1920 Events January * January 1 ** Polish–Soviet War in 1920: The Russian Red Army increases its troops along the Polish border from 4 divisions to 20. ** Kauniainen, completely surrounded by the city of Espoo, secedes from Espoo as its own ma ...

) 164. Did not enter: *

Alf Padgham Alfred Harry Padgham (2 July 1906 – 4 March 1966) was one of the leading British professional golfers of the 1930s and 1940s. He won the 1936 Open Championship at Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Hoylake, Merseyside, England and played for Great Bri ...

(

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...

Denny Shute Herman Densmore "Denny" Shute (October 25, 1904 – May 13, 1974) was an American professional golfer who won three major championships in the 1930s. Life and career Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Shute was the son of a golf pro from England; Hermon ...

(

1933 Events January * January 11 – Sir Charles Kingsford Smith makes the first commercial flight between Australia and New Zealand. * January 17 – The United States Congress votes in favour of Philippines independence, against the wis ...

Gene Sarazen Gene Sarazen (; born Eugenio Saraceni, February 27, 1902 – May 13, 1999) was an American professional golfer, one of the world's top players in the 1920s and 1930s, and the winner of seven major championships. He is one of five players (along ...

(

1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...

Tommy Armour Thomas Dickson Armour (24 September 1896 – 11 September 1968) was a Scottish-American professional golfer. He was nicknamed The Silver Scot. He was the winner of three of golf's major championships: 1927 U.S. Open, 1930 PGA, and 1931 Open C ...

(

1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...

),
Bobby Jones (

1926 Events January * January 3 – Theodoros Pangalos declares himself dictator in Greece. * January 8 **Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud is crowned King of Hejaz. ** Crown Prince Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thuy ascends the throne, the last monarch of V ...

, 1927,

1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be ...

Walter Hagen Walter Charles Hagen (December 21, 1892 – October 6, 1969) was an American professional golfer and a major figure in golf in the first half of the 20th century. His tally of 11 professional majors is third behind Jack Nicklaus (18) and Tiger ...

(

1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...

, 1924,

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhanov, J ...

1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...

Jim Barnes James Martin Barnes (April 8, 1886 – May 24, 1966) was an English golfer and a leading figure in the early years of professional golf in the United States. He is one of three native Britons (with Tommy Armour and Rory McIlroy) to win three di ...

(

1925 Events January * January 1 ** The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini makes a pivotal speech in the Italia ...

Arthur Havers Arthur Gladstone Havers (10 June 1898 – 27 December 1980)"Mr A.G. Havers. ''The Times'', 29 December 1980; p. 12; Issue 60812."Deaths – Havers. ''The Times'', 31 December 1980; p. 22; Issue 60814. was an English professional golfer. Havers wo ...

( 1923).

Round summaries

First round

''Wednesday, 5 July 1939'' Source:

Second round

''Thursday, 6 July 1939'' Source:

Third round

''Friday, 7 July 1939 (morning)'' Source:

Final round

''Friday, 7 July 1939 (afternoon)'' Source: Amateurs: Bruen (+5),

Kyle Kyle or Kyles may refer to: Places Canada * Kyle, Saskatchewan, Canada Ireland * Kyle, County Laois * Kyle, County Wexford Scotland * Kyle, Ayrshire, area of Scotland which stretched across parts of modern-day East Ayrshire and South Ayrshir ...

(+8), Crowley (+10), Dowie (+16), Sweeny (+16)

References

External links

St Andrews 1939 (Official site)
{{coord, 56.343, -2.803, type:event, display=title The Open Championship Golf tournaments in Scotland