Bryson DeChambeau has never been mistaken for a man of any subtlety, so some credit is possibly due for the lighter touches with which he disarmed Royal Birkdale and then jabbed at Sir Nick Faldo at The Open on Thursday.
After three missed cuts in three majors, the enigmatic American’s first-round 67 in the last-chance saloon of 2026 was impressive, not least because it flew in the face of expectations.
No one has articulated such reservations louder than Faldo, who used a recent interview to lacerate the LIV rebel’s usual bash-and-gouge approach to links courses. In his words: ‘DeChambeau has zero clue of strategy.’
To be fair to Faldo, it was hardly an isolated view, but a 67 on a rapid, sun-baked track was a solid answer and one that left DeChambeau on three under par, just two behind the surprise leader, Jackson Suber of the US. Alas, it was also one of the only answers he was prepared to offer.
As with the US PGA Championship and US Open, DeChambeau skulked away from the course without stopping for television or written interviews, where areas of interest might well include the demise of his LIV dream.
However, he did volunteer some brief thoughts for a tournament media official, and it was in that safer space where he aimed an apparent dig back at Faldo.
After three missed cuts in three majors, Bryson DeChambeau shot a first-round 67 at The Open
At three under, DeChambeau is just two behind the surprise leader, Jackson Suber of the US
Golf legend Sir Nick Faldo recently accused the American of ‘having zero clue of strategy’
In an otherwise bland assessment of his round, he appeared to conceal some barbs by saying: ‘I think you’ve got to be a lot more strategic out on the golf course. I feel like I did a really good job today of being incredibly strategic and focused super hard on placing it in the right places. I feel like my strategy was nice today.’
We might cite those three references to ‘strategy’ as an act of passive aggression, but DeChambeau was entitled to make the point – this was the kind of loop that suggested his worst ever season in the majors could yet have a strong finale. Indeed, had he not bogeyed the last hole, his outlook would be even better.
Clearly, the 32-year-old needs some good news at a point when LIV is desperately seeking cash to survive and the PGA Tour are reluctant to bow to his hopes of an easy route back.
He owes it to his many fans to answer some proper questions on that situation, so maybe Friday will see an end to this strange vow of silence.
Either way, we wait to see if DeChambeau has truly cracked the links code, but the signs are good after shooting one better than his playing partner, Scottie Scheffler. Joining DeChambeau on three under was Bob MacIntyre.
Collectively, they were far ahead of Rory McIlroy, who missed three putts inside four feet and looked utterly exasperated in a 72.
Trapped between cavalier and conservative game plans, nothing seemed to work for the world No 2. He struggled off the tee, he struggled on his approaches and he struggled on the greens, with a round best summed up a bunker shot on the par-five 17th that saw him forced to drop to one knee to play his fourth shot.
As it transpired, he somehow hacked to six feet only to miss yet another short par putt. His second-round priority will be surviving the cut.
‘I feel like I did a really good job today of being incredibly strategic,’ DeChambeau said
This was the kind of round that suggested his worst ever season in the majors could have a strong finale
Of the Englishmen chasing an end to 34 years of Open hurt, Justin Rose opened with a birdie and fell like a rock in a 75. Battling a neck injury, his double at the 11th was the lowest point of a rough round.
Matt Fitzpatrick, the most hyped of the bunch, shot 72, with both Tommy Fleetwood and Tyrrell Hatton in the hunt after matching 69s. Aaron Rai carded 71
Way out in front of all of them was Dan Brown, who supplied endless Davinci Code headlines when he led during the 2024 Open before finishing 10th. Here, the 31-year-old recorded a brilliant 66 and puffed his way through eight cigarettes in the process.
Given the spectator warnings to ‘maintain vigilance’ on fire hazards on this parched course, he stated his fear of being asked to stop smoking. ‘Hopefully I can do it for the rest of the week,’ he said. ‘There might be a big drop-off by Sunday if I’m not allowed to. Stress levels go up, then the more I end up having.’
