1939 Amateur Championship: Alex Kyle wins at Royal Liverpool Golf Club

Alex Kyle won the 1939 Amateur Championship at Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Hoylake, Merseyside, beating Tony Duncan 2 & 1 in the final.

Updated 23 October 2026

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Edition: 50th
Dates: 22 May 1939 to 27 May 1939
Course: Royal Liverpool Golf Club, Hoylake, Merseyside
Format: match play
Champion: Alex Kyle · age 32 · Scotland · Sandmoor
Champion's title: 1st Amateur Championship title
Runner-up: Tony Duncan · age 24 · Wales
Final: 2 & 1 (36-hole final)
Losing semifinalists: William Holt and Charlie Stowe
Defending champion: Charlie Yates · lost in third round

What happened at the 1939 Amateur Championship

Third round: Melbourne's J. M. Baillieu beat the American tennis professional Ellsworth Vines 2 & 1 before a huge, excited crowd; the same day R. D. Chapman beat the holder Charlie Yates 4 & 3

Quarter-finals: Alex Kyle beat 18-year-old Irish prodigy James Bruen 1 up; Tony Duncan (Welsh Guards officer) beat American R. D. Chapman 5 & 3

Round of 64, J. M. Baillieu v Ellsworth Vines, 2 & 1. Vines, the tennis professional, started 8-6-7 and twice went out of bounds; Baillieu out in 37 to be 4 up

Quarterfinal, Alex Kyle v James Bruen, 1 up. Kyle beat the 18-year-old Irish prodigy

Final, Alex Kyle v Tony Duncan, 2 & 1. Kyle beat the Welsh Guards officer at Hoylake

The draw

Every match is recorded through the quarterfinal; earlier rounds are partial (round of 16 (0 of 8); round of 32 (1 of 16)).

The final, 1939 Amateur Championship

Winner		Beaten	Result
Alex Kyle	def.	Tony Duncan	2 & 1

Semifinals, 1939 Amateur Championship

Winner		Beaten	Result
Alex Kyle	def.	William Holt	2 & 1
Tony Duncan	def.	Charlie Stowe	3 & 2

Quarterfinals, 1939 Amateur Championship

Winner		Beaten	Result
William Holt	def.	K. G. Thom	3 & 2
Tony Duncan	def.	R. D. Chapman	5 & 3
Alex Kyle	def.	James Bruen	1 up
Charlie Stowe	def.	S. Roberts	1 up

Round of 32, 1939 Amateur Championship

Winner		Beaten	Result
M. White Jr.	def.	J. M. Baillieu	3 & 2

Round of 64, 1939 Amateur Championship

Winner		Beaten	Result
R. D. Chapman	def.	Charlie Yates	4 & 3
J. M. Baillieu	def.	Ellsworth Vines	2 & 1

How this was built

Every value is shown as recorded in GNN's Amateur Championship data set (research collected through 20 October 2026). "unknown" means no source confirmed it; nothing is estimated. Where sources disagree, the R&A's own record is used.

Data: the-amateur.json.