1939 British Open Winner and Scores

The 1939 British Open was the 74th time this major was played — and the last time until 1946 due to World War II.

Winner: Dick Burton, 290

Where it was played: The Old Course at St. Andrews, Scotland

Tournament dates: July 5-7, 1939

Leader after first round: Dick Burton, Harry Busson, Max Faulkner and Bobby Locke, 70

Leader after second round: Dick Burton, 142

Leader after third round: John Fallon, 215

What Happened at the 1939 Open Championship

The 1939 British Open was the last one played until 1946, as World War II put most of the golf world on hold. Not long after this Open concluded, the Royal Air Force began using the Old Course's fairways as runways.

It was because of World War II that the winner of the 1939 British Open is the answer to a trick question: Who held the British Open title the longest? The answer is Englishman Dick Burton who, after winning here, held the title for the next seven years, until the tournament resumed in 1946. Burton himself entered service with the RAF shortly after winning the Open.

Burton had two other Top 10 finishes in the Open Championship, but played only one other major, the 1946 U.S. Open (missing the cut).

The third-round leader was John Fallon, but Fallon struggled to a 79 in the final round and wound up tied for third place. The early clubhouse leader was Johnny Bulla, who posted a score of 292.

Burton had held or shared the lead after both the first and second rounds, but a 77 in the third round meant he started Round 4 four strokes behind Fallon's lead. But Burton played most of his round after Bulla had already finished, with that 292 score as his target. And he shot a 71 that ended with a birdie on the final hole to claim the Claret Jug.

1939 British Open Final Scores

Dick Burton	70-72-77-71—290
Johnny Bulla	77-71-71-73—292
John Fallon	71-73-71-79—294
Sam King	74-72-75-73—294
Alf Perry	71-74-73-76—294
Bill Shankland	72-73-72-77—294
Reg Whitcombe	71-75-74-74—294
Martin Pose	71-72-76-76—295
Percy Alliss	75-73-74-74—296
Ernest Kenyon	73-75-74-74—296
Bobby Locke	70-75-76-75—296
Dai Rees	71-74-75-77—297
Jimmy Adams	73-74-75-76—298
Enrique Bertolino	73-75-75-75—298
a-Jimmy Bruen Jr.	72-75-75-76—298
Henry Cotton	74-72-76-76—298
William Anderson	73-74-77-75—299
Emilio Serra	77-72-73-77—299
W.H. Green	75-75-72-78—300
William H. Davies	71-79-74-77—301
Syd Easterbrook	74-71-80-76—301
a-Alex Kyle	74-76-75-76—301
a-Leonard Crawley	72-76-80-74—302
Max Faulkner	70-76-76-80—302
James Busson Jr.	70-75-81-77—303
Laurie Ayton Jr.	72-77-78-77—304
William Collins	75-74-79-76—304
Fred Taggart	73-77-76-78—304
Aurelio Castanon	77-73-80-75—305
Laurie Ayton Sr.	76-72-82-76—306
Charlie Ward	71-74-78-83—306
John Busson	79-70-81-77—307
a-Andrew Dowie	76-74-81-77—308
a-Bob Sweeny Jr.	74-75-80-79—308

Previous and next:
1938 British Open - 1946 British Open