Bryson DeChambeau shines at Royal Birkdale as Australian contenders battle tough conditions
South port: Bryson DeChambeau has delivered a subtle jab at golfing great Sir Nick Faldo after the six-time major champion declared he had “no clue about strategy” and once again refused to face the media on a day when Australia’s leading hopes struggled to make a big impact in the opening round of the British Open championship in England.
Min Woo Lee and Lucas Herbert were the best Australians at Royal Birkdale; They both posted even rounds of 70, which included a series of clutch shots to keep them in the fight.
Lee, Australia’s highest-ranked player – currently ranked 24th in the world after finishing second at last week’s Scottish Open – is five strokes behind American Jackson Suber, a surprise first-round leader after placing fifth.
On a day when Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy shot 68 and 72 respectively, DeChambeau, who has more than five million followers across his social media channels, shot a three-under 67 – his best opening round in the Open Championship.
It comes just two days after Faldo criticized the LIV Golf star for missed cuts at this year’s Masters, PGA Championship and US Open, jokingly saying another early exit this week should have been called a “hard slam” rather than a “grand slam”.
“I would say that to his face. He has no idea about strategy,” Faldo told Sky Sports. he said [last year]’I’m going to go out and attack the connections.’ I have never ‘attacked’ a links course.”
DeChambeau, who played in Adelaide with LIV Golf last year, answered questions from an R&D official after his round but declined to speak to television or print media for his fifth straight major.
Although Faldo’s remarks were not asked directly, DeChambeau’s trilogy on strategy seemed an on-point response.
“I think you have to be a lot more strategic on the golf course,” DeChambeau said. “I feel like I did a really good job today by being incredibly strategic and very focused on placing the ball in the right places. I placed the ball in some good areas as well as the 18. I just need to hit more fairways. Other than that, I thought my strategy today was good.”
Faldo later took credit for the performance after DeChambeau opened with back-to-back birdies on the dry, fast Royal Birkdale layout.
“I think I shook his cage,” Faldo said. “He basically claimed he knew what was going on and said, ‘Faldo, I have strategy.’ So I claim to have opened the strategy game,” he said.
Cam Smith’s bid to repeat his memorable victory at St Andrews in 2022 suffered an early blow after he shot a 73-over par on a day when birdies were very good – except for world No. 1 Scheffler, who made four in the opening six holes.
Riders mostly stayed in the bag as players struggled with difficult running conditions on the course where Australian Ian Baker-Finch lifted the Claret Jug in 1991.
Under the glorious British sunshine and in front of thousands of spectators, Lee was pleased with how he fought as Smith’s poor run at the top spot – seven missed cuts in his last eight starts – threatened to continue.
“I didn’t have anything going very well, so it was good to get that done,” Lee said.
Smith said of his round: “I don’t think it was that bad. It was tough out there. I don’t think I’d make too many changes to be honest. I just needed a few missed putts and a few more fairways would have been nice.”
A day after sharing a practice round with Scheffler, Sydney player Travis Smyth recovered from two bogeys in the opening three holes to finish at par, while Adam Scott (+2) and Jason Day (+3) will be eager for better rounds on Friday.
“I fucked up the first tee box,” Smyth said of the opening tee shot in the “coliseum”-style amphitheater that sits around the first tee box.
“I was extremely nervous. I didn’t feel like I was playing that well. It could have easily made a mess.”
Meanwhile, England’s Daniel Brown revealed he smoked “seven or eight” cigarettes en route to four points under 66, sharing second place with South Korea’s Sungjae Im.
Then he said, “I’m sorry, mom.” “If I’m not given leave, there could be a big drop by Sunday.” [the cigarettes].”
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Tom Decent is chief sports writer for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect with: X or email.
