1939 Open Championship: Dick Burton wins at Old Course, St Andrews
Dick Burton won the 1939 Open Championship at Old Course, St Andrews, Scotland with 290, by 2 strokes over Johnny Bulla.
Updated October 23, 2026
See 1939 in The Open room, or every year on The Open winners list.
- Dates
- 5 July 1939 to 7 July 1939
- Course
- Old Course, St Andrews, Scotland
- Edition
- 74th Open Championship
- Format
- 72 holes of stroke play
- Field
- 129
- Made the cut
- 34 (cut at 150)
- Purse
- £500 · winner's share £100
- Trophy
- Claret Jug (replica to winner)
- Champion
- Dick Burton · age 31 · England · born Darwen, England
- Champion's title
- 1st Open title
- Winning score
- 70-72-77-71 = 290 · won by 2 strokes
- Runner-up
- Johnny Bulla (292)
- 54-hole leader
- John Fallon (215) · Dick Burton was 4 strokes back
- Deciding hole
- No. 18, round 4
- Final-day weather
- windy: Fallon led after round 3 "but, with the wind increasing, his slight frame was no match for the conditions"
- Low amateur
- Jimmy Bruen (298)
Top 11 as recorded
| Pos. | Player | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dick Burton | 70 | 72 | 77 | 71 | 290 |
| 2 | Johnny Bulla | 77 | 71 | 71 | 73 | 292 |
| T3 | Sam King | 74 | 72 | 75 | 73 | 294 |
| T3 | John Fallon | 71 | 73 | 71 | 79 | 294 |
| T3 | Alf Perry | 71 | 74 | 73 | 76 | 294 |
| T3 | Bill Shankland | 72 | 73 | 72 | 77 | 294 |
| T3 | Reg Whitcombe | 71 | 75 | 74 | 74 | 294 |
| 8 | Martin Pose | 71 | 72 | 76 | 76 | 295 |
| T9 | Ernest Kenyon | 73 | 75 | 74 | 74 | 296 |
| T9 | Bobby Locke | 70 | 75 | 76 | 75 | 296 |
| T9 | Percy Alliss | 75 | 73 | 74 | 74 | 296 |
What happened at the 1939 Open Championship
Burton holed a 15-foot birdie putt on the 72nd green to win by two.
Martin Pose took 8 at the Road Hole after a two-stroke penalty for grounding his club in a hazard.
Burton came to the last needing a four to win, hit a huge drive, pitched to 15 feet and holed the birdie putt to win by two.
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).