Bryson DeChambeau delivered a pointed response to his critics after posting a three-under 67 in the opening round of The Open Championship at Royal Birkdale, directly addressing remarks made by six-time major winner Nick Faldo about his strategic approach to links golf. The 2024 U.S. Open champion, who had missed the cut in the first three majors of the 2026 season, used his post-round interview to highlight what he called an “incredibly strategic” game plan.
Faldo had earlier told Sky Sports that DeChambeau lacked strategic understanding on links courses, saying, “He has zero clue of strategy.” The former world No. 1 criticized DeChambeau’s tendency to attack the course rather than thread shots through the humps and bumps typical of seaside layouts. “You don’t think, ‘I’ll just bomb it down there, can’t see where I’m going, it’s 20 yards wide.’ Oh yeah, good luck,” Faldo said.
DeChambeau, 32, did not directly name Faldo but made his response unmistakable. “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,” he told an R&A reporter. He added that aside from the 18th hole, he placed the ball in good areas and felt his strategy was sound.
The criticism extended beyond Faldo. Golf analyst Brandel Chamblee suggested that DeChambeau’s focus on his popular YouTube channel had distracted him from competing at the highest level. “It’s almost like he went from chasing Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy to chasing Grant Horvat. It’s like he wants to outdo every YouTuber in the game of golf instead of outplay everybody in the game of golf,” Chamblee said earlier this week.
DeChambeau’s 2026 major record had indeed been poor before Birkdale. He missed the cut at the Masters, the PGA Championship at Aronimink, and the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills. For a player with his talent and a U.S. Open title to his name, those results invited scrutiny. Yet his opening round at The Open suggested a return to form, particularly in areas where he has historically struggled.
Data from recent Open Championships shows that DeChambeau has consistently gained strokes off the tee. In 2025 at Royal Portrush, he ranked second in strokes gained off the tee en route to a T10 finish. In 2024, he gained 1.38 strokes off the tee but missed the cut due to poor approach play. In 2023, his best category was again off the tee, and in 2022, he gained strokes with his driving and finished T8. Through the first round at Birkdale, he ranked third in strokes gained off the tee.
Where DeChambeau has often faltered is in approach play. In 2024, he lost 2.37 strokes on approaches and missed the cut. In 2023, he lost 0.57 strokes and finished T60. But when his approach game is sharp, he excels: in 2022, he gained 1.15 strokes on approaches and finished T8; in 2025, he gained 0.65 strokes and finished T10. In the first round at Birkdale, he gained over two strokes in approach play, a key factor in his three-under 67.
DeChambeau acknowledged the difficulty of the conditions, noting that the wind was switching and that the round was a “hard-fought battle.” He praised the fans and said the group played well overall. He also identified driving accuracy as an area for improvement, saying, “There’s just some driving holes out there I’ve got to work on.”
The response from DeChambeau has been seen as a direct repudiation of Faldo’s critique, especially given the statistical evidence that his driving has been a strength at The Open. Faldo’s comments were part of a broader narrative about LIV Golf players struggling in majors, a topic that has generated debate throughout the season. DeChambeau, who joined LIV Golf in 2022, has faced questions about whether the less competitive environment of the Saudi-backed league has affected his performance in traditional events.
Despite the criticism, DeChambeau remains one of the most talented players in the world, with a game that can dominate when everything clicks. His opening round at Birkdale put him in contention for the weekend, and if he continues to play with the same strategic discipline, he could silence his detractors in the most emphatic way possible. As he said after the round, “I feel like my strategy was nice today.”