1938 Open Championship

Golf tournament
1938 Open Championship
Tournament information
Dates6–8 July 1938
LocationSandwich, England
Course(s)Royal St George's Golf Club
Statistics
Par70[1]
Field120 players, 37 after cut[2]
Cut148 (+8)
Prize fund£500
Winner's share£100
Champion
England Reg Whitcombe
295 (+15)
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Sandwich  is located in England
Sandwich 
Sandwich 
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Location in England
Sandwich is located in Kent
Sandwich
Sandwich
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Location in Kent. England

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.[3][4] The purse was £500 with a winner's share of £100.[2]

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."[5] 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.[6]

Qualifying took place on 4–5 July, Monday and Tuesday, with 18 holes at St. George's and 18 holes at Prince's.[7] The number of qualifiers was reduced this year to a maximum of 130, and ties for 130th place did not qualify.[6] John Fallon led the qualifiers on 142; the qualifying score was 157 and 120 players advanced,[8] with none from the United States.[2]

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.[1] 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 (+8) and 37 advanced.[9]

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 384-yard (351 m) 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.

Round summaries

First round

Wednesday, 6 July 1938

Place Player Score To par
T1 Scotland Jimmy Adams 70 E
Republic of Ireland Jimmy Bruen (a)
England Bill Cox
France Marcel Dallemagne
Scotland John Fallon
England Ernest Whitcombe
T7 England Dick Burton 71 +1
England Jack Busson
England Bert Gadd
England Ted Jarman
England Alf Perry
England Charles Whitcombe
England Reg Whitcombe

Source:[10]

Second round

Thursday, 7 July 1938

Place Player Score To par
T1 England Dick Burton 71-69=140 E
England Jack Busson 71-69=140
England Bill Cox 70-70=140
T4 Scotland Jimmy Adams 70-71=141 +1
England Bert Gadd 71-70=141
6 England Reg Whitcombe 71-71=142 +2
7 England Bob French 72-71=143 +3
T8 Wales Jimmy Black 72-72=144 +4
France Marcel Dallemagne 70-74=144
T10 Scotland Allan Dailey 73-72=145 +5
Scotland John Fallon 70-75=145
South Africa Bobby Locke 73-72=145
England Alf Perry 71-74=145
Wales Dai Rees 73-72=145
England Cyril Tolley (a) 77-68=145

Source:[9]

Third round

Friday, 8 July 1938 (morning)

Place Player Score To par
1 England Reg Whitcombe 71-71-75=217 +7
2 England Dick Burton 71-69-78=218 +8
3 Scotland Jimmy Adams 70-71-78=219 +9
4 England Alf Padgham 74-72-75=221 +11
5 Scotland Alf Perry 71-74-77=222 +12
6 England Jack Busson 71-69-83=223 +13
T7 England Fred Bullock 73-74-77=224 +14
England Henry Cotton 74-73-77=224
England Bill Cox 70-70-84=224
Wales Dai Rees 73-72-79=224

Source:[2][4]

Final round

Friday, 8 July 1938 (afternoon)

Place Player Score To par Money (£)
1 England Reg Whitcombe 71-71-75-78=295 +15 100
2 Scotland Jimmy Adams 70-71-78-78=297 +17 75
3 England Henry Cotton 74-73-77-74=298 +18 50
T4 England Dick Burton 71-69-78-85=303 +23 23
15s
England Jack Busson 71-69-83-80=303
Scotland Allan Dailey 73-72-80-78=303
England Alf Padgham 74-72-75-82=303
T8 England Fred Bullock 73-74-77-80=304 +24 15
England Bill Cox 70-70-84-80=304
T10 England Bert Gadd 71-70-84-80=305 +25 10
South Africa Bobby Locke 73-72-81-79=305
England Charles Whitcombe 71-75-79-80=305

Source:[2][4]

Amateurs: Storey (+36), Tolley (+37), Thomson (+39), Pennink (+42).

References

  1. ^ a b "Archer leads qualifiers in Amateur golf – 3 share British Open Lead". Montreal Gazette. Associated Press. 8 July 1938. p. 13. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Media guide". The Open Championship. 2011. p. 95. Archived from the original on 18 April 2012. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
  3. ^ "Reginald Whitcombe win British Open crown". Miami News. Associated Press. 8 July 1938. p. 12. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
  4. ^ a b c "Reggie Whitcombe scores 295 to win". Montreal Gazette. Associated Press. 9 July 1938. p. 13. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
  5. ^ "Gales and snow – Damage on east coast – Widespread flooding". The Times. 14 February 1938. p. 12.
  6. ^ a b "Golf – The Open and Amateur Championships – New Conditions". The Times. 12 February 1938. p. 4.
  7. ^ "Assault on Cotton's title". Glasgow Herald. 5 July 1938. p. 3.
  8. ^ "Decks cleared for action". Glasgow Herald. 6 July 1938. p. 6.
  9. ^ a b "Golfers' changing fortunes". Glasgow Herald. 8 July 1938. p. 12.
  10. ^ "Fascinating day's golf". Glasgow Herald. 7 July 1938. p. 2.

External links

  • Royal St George's 1938 (Official site)
  • 1938 Open Championship (GolfCompendium.com)
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51°16′26″N 1°22′01″E / 51.274°N 1.367°E / 51.274; 1.367