1938 Open Championship: Reg Whitcombe wins at Royal St George's Golf Club
Reg Whitcombe won the 1938 Open Championship at Royal St George's Golf Club, Sandwich, England with 295, by 2 strokes over Jimmy Adams.
Updated October 23, 2026
See 1938 in The Open room, or every year on The Open winners list.
- Dates
- 6 July 1938 to 8 July 1938
- Course
- Royal St George's Golf Club, Sandwich, England
- Edition
- 73rd Open Championship
- Format
- 72 holes of stroke play
- Field
- 120
- Made the cut
- 37 (cut at 148)
- Purse
- £500 · winner's share £100
- Trophy
- Claret Jug (replica to winner)
- Champion
- Reg Whitcombe · age 40 · England · born Burnham-on-Sea, England
- Champion's title
- 1st Open title
- Winning score
- 71-71-75-78 = 295 · won by 2 strokes
- Runner-up
- Jimmy Adams (297)
- 54-hole leader
- Reg Whitcombe (217)
- Final-day weather
- windy (storm): "One of the worst storms ever to hit The Open"; the wind tore apart the Exhibition Tent
- Low amateur
- E.F. Storey (316)
Top 12 as recorded
| Pos. | Player | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Reg Whitcombe | 71 | 71 | 75 | 78 | 295 |
| 2 | Jimmy Adams | 70 | 71 | 78 | 78 | 297 |
| 3 | Henry Cotton | 74 | 73 | 77 | 74 | 298 |
| T4 | Jack Busson | 71 | 69 | 83 | 80 | 303 |
| T4 | Allan Dailey | 73 | 72 | 80 | 78 | 303 |
| T4 | Alf Padgham | 74 | 72 | 75 | 82 | 303 |
| T4 | Dick Burton | 71 | 69 | 78 | 85 | 303 |
| T8 | Fred Bullock | 73 | 74 | 77 | 80 | 304 |
| T8 | Bill Cox | 70 | 70 | 84 | 80 | 304 |
| T10 | Bert Gadd | 71 | 70 | 84 | 80 | 305 |
| T10 | Bobby Locke | 73 | 72 | 81 | 79 | 305 |
| T10 | Charles Whitcombe | 71 | 75 | 79 | 80 | 305 |
What happened at the 1938 Open Championship
The final-day gale ripped apart the huge Exhibition Tent, the largest ever seen at The Open.
Alf Padgham drove the 384-yard 11th green and holed the putt for a 2.
No source names a deciding hole; Reg Whitcombe won by two in a final-day gale despite four-putts at the 9th (R3) and 1st (R4).
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).