1938 Open Championship


The 1938 Open Championship was the 73rd Open Championship, held 6–8 July at Royal St George's Golf Club in Sandwich, England. In terrible weather conditions that caused scores to soar, Reg Whitcombe prevailed by two strokes over runner-up Jimmy Adams to win his only major title. The purse was £500 with a winner's share of £100.
It was planned to play the Championship at Royal Cinque Ports in nearby Deal, but abnormally high tides that February caused severe flooding to the course, leaving it like "an inland sea several feet deep." The venue was switched to Royal St George's, and Prince's replaced Royal Cinque Ports as the venue for one of the qualifying rounds.
Qualifying took place on 4–5 July, Monday and Tuesday, with 18 holes at St. George's and 18 holes at Prince's. The number of qualifiers was reduced this year to a maximum of 130, and ties for 130th place did not qualify. John Fallon led the qualifiers on 142; the qualifying score was 157 and 120 players advanced, with none from the United States.
Dick Burton, Jack Busson, and Bill Cox shared the 36-hole lead at even par 140, with Whitcombe two strokes back after consecutive rounds of 71. A maximum of 40 players after 36 holes made the cut to play on the final day, and ties for 40th place did not make the cut. It was at 148 and 37 advanced.
In the last two rounds on Friday, the weather turned from challenging to treacherous. Gale force winds ripped apart the large exhibition tent and scattered debris for a mile around. Alf Padgham drove the green on the 11th hole, while Cyril Tolley cleared the water on the 14th only to have the wind blow his ball back into the hazard. Only seven sub-80 scores were recorded in the final round. The leaders suffered terribly in the conditions: Burton finished 78-85, Busson shot 83-80, while Cox went 84-80. Whitcombe's scores of 75-78 were enough to post a 295 total, two ahead of Adams and three clear of defending champion Henry Cotton.

Past champions in the field

Made the cut

Source:

Missed the cut

Source:
Did not advance past qualifying rounds :
Did not enter:

First round

Wednesday, 6 July 1938
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
T1Jimmy Adams70E
T1Jimmy Bruen 70E
T1Bill Cox70E
T1Marcel Dallemagne70E
T1John Fallon70E
T1Ernest Whitcombe70E
T7Dick Burton71+1
T7Jack Busson71+1
T7Bert Gadd71+1
T7Ted Jarman71+1
T7Alf Perry71+1
T7Charles Whitcombe71+1
T7Reg Whitcombe71+1

Source:

Second round

Thursday, 7 July 1938
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
T1Dick Burton71-69=140E
T1Jack Busson71-69=140E
T1Bill Cox70-70=140E
T4Jimmy Adams70-71=141+1
T4Bert Gadd71-70=141+1
6Reg Whitcombe71-71=142+2
7Bob French72-71=143+3
T8Jimmy Black72-72=144+4
T8Marcel Dallemagne70-74=144+4
T10Allan Dailey73-72=145+5
T10John Fallon70-75=145+5
T10Bobby Locke73-72=145+5
T10Alf Perry71-74=145+5
T10Dai Rees73-72=145+5
T10Cyril Tolley 77-68=145+5

Source:

Third round

Friday, 8 July 1938
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
1Reg Whitcombe71-71-75=217+7
2Dick Burton71-69-78=218+8
3Jimmy Adams70-71-78=219+9
4Alf Padgham74-72-75=221+11
5Alf Perry71-74-77=222+12
6Jack Busson71-69-83=223+13
T7Fred Bullock73-74-77=224+14
T7Henry Cotton74-73-77=224+14
T7Bill Cox70-70-84=224+14
T7Dai Rees73-72-79=224+14

Source:

Final round

Friday, 8 July 1938
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo parMoney
1Reg Whitcombe71-71-75-78=295+15100
2Jimmy Adams70-71-78-78=297+1775
3Henry Cotton74-73-77-74=298+1850
T4Dick Burton71-69-78-85=303+2323
15s
T4Jack Busson71-69-83-80=303+2323
15s
T4Allan Dailey73-72-80-78=303+2323
15s
T4Alf Padgham74-72-75-82=303+2323
15s
T8Fred Bullock73-74-77-80=304+2415
T8Bill Cox70-70-84-80=304+2415
T10Bert Gadd71-70-84-80=305+2510
T10Bobby Locke73-72-81-79=305+2510
T10Charles Whitcombe71-75-79-80=305+2510

Source:
Amateurs: Storey, Tolley, Thomson, Pennink.