{"id":766699,"date":"2026-07-16T17:45:22","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T17:45:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/766699\/"},"modified":"2026-07-16T17:45:22","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T17:45:22","slug":"2026-british-open-bryson-dechambeau-praises-strategy-shoots-67-with-only-four-fairways-hit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/766699\/","title":{"rendered":"2026 British Open: Bryson DeChambeau praises strategy, shoots 67 with only four fairways hit"},"content":{"rendered":"

SOUTHPORT, England \u2013 Scottie Scheffler thought he was severely punished for the few mistakes he made Thursday at Royal Birkdale.<\/p>\n

Bryson DeChambeau, meanwhile, was trying to inflict his own punishment.<\/p>\n

Strategy off the tee continues to be a major talking point this week, with no clear and obvious path to success on browned-out, baked-out fairways. DeChambeau busted driver with more frequency \u2013 even nearly driving the green on the 380-yard 10th \u2013 and took advantage of a few flighted wedges to sign for a 3-under 67; sitting in a tie for third as the afternoon wave gets underway, it\u2019s just the second time in his Open career that he\u2019s been inside the top 70 after the first round.<\/p>\n

Because of DeChambeau\u2019s relative lack of success on links courses, it\u2019s little surprise that three-time Open champ Nick Faldo blasted him earlier this week<\/a>, woofing that DeChambeau has \u201czero clue of strategy\u201d with this style of play. He criticized DeChambeau\u2019s arrogance in thinking that he could overpower links courses instead of threading shots between the penal pot bunkers.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve got to think, \u2018How do I get it on the short grass?\u2019\u201d Faldo said earlier this week. \u201cIt\u2019s so important.\u201d<\/p>\n

And yet it wasn\u2019t particularly important on Thursday.<\/p>\n

In the opening round, DeChambeau ranked nearly last in the field in driving accuracy, finding just four of 14 fairways. However, his only two dropped shots came after missed fairways: On 14, he didn\u2019t carry the dunes down the left-hand side, necessitating a layup (he\u2019d eventually three-putt from 30 feet); and he bogeyed the final hole after his second shot from the hay skittered over the back of the green.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe flights the ball great; his ball flight today was really good. He didn\u2019t really hit many bad shots,\u201d Tyrrell Hatton said. \u201cHe\u2019s an amazing player, and it shouldn\u2019t really surprise anyone that he\u2019s doing well.\u201d<\/p>\n

DeChambeau may need to evolve his plan of attack as the week progresses and Birkdale becomes progressively firmer, but the rough, in most spots, has not yet proven prohibitive because it is so burned out and wispy.<\/p>\n

DeChambeau didn\u2019t speak to reporters for the sixth consecutive major round, but he told an R&A spokesperson that he was pleased with his game plan on Day 1.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think you\u2019ve got to be a lot more strategic out on the golf course,\u201d he said. \u201cI feel like I did a really good job today of being incredibly strategic and focused super hard on placing it in the right places. Besides 18, I placed the ball in some good areas. I just need to hit more fairways. Other than that, I feel like my strategy was nice today.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Note his use of \u201cstrategic\u201d three times in about 15 seconds. Your move, Sir Nick.)<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Scheffler kickstarted his Open Championship defense with four front-nine birdies on Thursday at Royal Birkdale, and though he eventually gave a couple shots \u2013 and his solo lead \u2013 back, the world\u2019s top-ranked player was pleased with an opening 68.<\/p>\n

DeChambeau\u2019s mighty blasts may have had a knock-on effect with the rest of his group. Scheffler intended to lay back on more of the par 4s but was compelled to push the ball farther down after seeing DeChambeau and Hatton wield driver.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s different ways to play the golf course, and I think that\u2019s a sign of a good championship golf course,\u201d Scheffler said. \u201cI think it\u2019s unique in a sense of we have to think a lot off the tee around this golf course.\u201d<\/p>\n

The defending Open champion played a largely clean round of 68 but was dinged for two miscues. On the 150-yard seventh, he missed the green with a wedge and was unable to get up and down. And on 17, looking to attack one of only two par 5s from the fairway, he blocked his long iron way right with the wind, his ball burrowing into the tall grass, and into such a horrific lie under cable wires, that he asked the fans nearby if anyone had stepped on the ball.<\/p>\n

Scheffler was denied relief, and after he considered taking an unplayable, he hacked back across the hole. After an exquisite pitch that rode the slope, he actually gave himself a good look to salvage par, but his 4-footer never had a chance.<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess don\u2019t hit it off-line,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Well, at least not in some places.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a look at tee times and groupings for the second round of the 154th Open Championship.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SOUTHPORT, England \u2013 Scottie Scheffler thought he was severely punished for the few mistakes he made Thursday at…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":766700,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[71],"tags":[427,99],"class_list":["post-766699","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-golf","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/766699","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=766699"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/766699\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/766700"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=766699"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=766699"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=766699"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}