Bryson DeChambeau fired back at six-time major winner Sir Nick Faldo after the golfing legend accused him of having 'zero strategy', posting an opening-round 67 at The 154th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale.
DeChambeau's Response to Criticism
DeChambeau, who has endured a woeful season missing cuts in all three previous majors this year, showed signs of recovery as he began his quest to silence his doubters. The two-time US Open champion refused to speak to the media but answered questions for the R&A's in-house channel, where he emphasised the importance of 'strategy'.
He said: "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. 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."
Faldo's Criticism
Speaking earlier this week, Faldo said: "That's got to be a rough slam, isn't it? We've got to name it. I'd say it to his face: he has zero clue of strategy. He said it last year, I think, 'I'm going to go out and attack the links'. Well, I've never 'attacked' a links. You thread it, don't you? You feed it down the fairway, it's really important. You look at humps and bumps and think, if I send it over and feed it, it nudges back into play. You don't think 'oh, I'll just bomb it down there, can't see where I'm going, it's 20 yards wide.' Oh, yeah, good luck."
DeChambeau's Major Struggles
DeChambeau won the US Open in 2020 and 2024, but after three top-10 finishes in majors last year, he has failed to make the weekend in any of the three majors this season. The 'Bryson Slam' of missing all four major cuts in a calendar year looms if he fails to make the cut at Royal Birkdale.
