Bryson DeChambeau’s opening-round 67 at The Open on Thursday surprised a lot of people.
DeChambeau entered The Open having missed the cut at all three major championships so far this season.
However, he carded a round of three-under par at Royal Birkdale – the lowest score in his group alongside Scottie Scheffler and Tyrrell Hatton.
Bryson DeChambeau certainly answered his critics on Thursday at The Open and actually played some fine golf, but his job is obviously far from done.
Earlier this week, Nick Faldo criticized Bryson DeChambeau for his approach to playing links golf.
Faldo said DeChambeau doesn’t have the strategy needed to succeed at The Open, and many golf fans agreed with the Englishman.
Brandel Chamblee piled in as well, suggesting that the 32-year-old LIV Golf star is no longer trying to chase the likes of Scheffler and Rory McIlroy, but instead, YouTube star Grant Horvat.
What do you think about Bryson DeChambeau's conduct with the media?
Bryson DeChambeau’s swipe at Nick Faldo after day one at The Open
DeChambeau spoke briefly to one reporter after his opening-round 67 at Royal Birkdale on Thursday afternoon.
The American was asked to sum up his opening round at The Open.
“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 in placing it in the right places,“ he said.
“Besides 18 [closing bogey], I placed the ball in some good areas, but just needed to hit more fairways. Other than that, I felt like my strategy was nice today.“
That was a clear response to Faldo’s comments earlier in the week.
However, getting involved in a war of words is, in itself, a really silly strategy from DeChambeau.
Bryson DeChambeau should be concentrating on one thing
The mere fact that DeChambeau brought up his ‘strategy’ after day one at The Open proves that he is thinking about Faldo’s remarks.
However, he really should only be focused on his second round at The Open on Friday.
The LIV Golf star has put more pressure on himself by taking that cheeky swipe at Faldo.
What if he has a poor round at Birkdale on Friday? The press will be waiting for the American to fail, and now he has given them a great soundbite.
It remains to be seen whether Faldo was correct in his summarisation of DeChambeau.
As good as his round of 67 was, he hasn’t actually achieved anything yet.
Bryson DeChambeau should let his golf do the talking at The Open. Any kind of verbal sparring with pundits and former players who have criticized him will only make his task of proving them wrong harder.
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