1928 Open Championship: Walter Hagen wins at Royal St George's Golf Club
Walter Hagen won the 1928 Open Championship at Royal St George's Golf Club, Sandwich, England with 292, by 2 strokes over Gene Sarazen.
Updated October 23, 2026
See 1928 in The Open room, or every year on The Open winners list.
- Dates
- 9 May 1928 to 11 May 1928
- Course
- Royal St George's Golf Club, Sandwich, England
- Edition
- 63rd Open Championship
- Format
- 72 holes of stroke play
- Field
- 113
- Made the cut
- 52 (cut at 159)
- Purse
- £275
- Trophy
- Claret Jug (replica to winner)
- Champion
- Walter Hagen · age 35 · USA · born Rochester, New York, USA
- Champion's title
- 3rd Open title
- Winning score
- 75-73-72-72 = 292 · won by 2 strokes
- Runner-up
- Gene Sarazen (294)
- 54-hole leader
- Walter Hagen (220)
- Deciding hole
- No. 15, round 4
- Low amateur
- Philip Perkins (307)
Top 10 as recorded
| Pos. | Player | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Walter Hagen | 75 | 73 | 72 | 72 | 292 |
| 2 | Gene Sarazen | 72 | 76 | 73 | 73 | 294 |
| 3 | Archie Compston | 75 | 74 | 73 | 73 | 295 |
| T4 | Percy Alliss | 75 | 76 | 75 | 72 | 298 |
| T4 | Fred Robson | 79 | 73 | 73 | 73 | 298 |
| T6 | Aubrey Boomer | 79 | 73 | 77 | 72 | 301 |
| T6 | Jim Barnes | 81 | 73 | 76 | 71 | 301 |
| T6 | José Jurado | 74 | 71 | 76 | 80 | 301 |
| 9 | Bill Mehlhorn | 71 | 78 | 76 | 77 | 302 |
| 10 | William H. Davies | 78 | 74 | 79 | 73 | 304 |
What happened at the 1928 Open Championship
Hagen holed from seven feet after a bunker shot at the 15th to protect his lead.
The Prince of Wales, the future Edward VIII, presented the Claret Jug as club captain.
Hagen played a bunker shot to seven feet at the 15th and holed the putt for a 4 "to make sure he kept ahead" of Sarazen.
How this was built
Every value is shown as recorded in GNN's The Open data. A value no source confirmed is left out; nothing is estimated. Where sources disagree, the organizer's own record is used.
Data: the-open.json (The Open room's data), with GNN's Open Championship addendum tables L (top ten by round), H (deciding hole), W (final-day weather).