Bryson DeChambeau opened the 2026 Open Championship with a strong 67 at Royal Birkdale on Thursday. The round placed him at three under par and two shots off the early lead. He also responded to prior criticism from Nick Faldo during a brief interview.
DeChambeau started with back-to-back birdies and added three more against two bogeys. He played alongside Scottie Scheffler and Tyrrell Hatton in the morning wave.
DeChambeau skipped the traditional press conference after his round. Instead he completed a short interview with R&A officials where he addressed strategy on the links course.
"I feel like I did a really good job today of being incredibly strategic," DeChambeau said. He added that he placed the ball in good areas on most holes and called his overall approach effective.
Nick Faldo had criticized DeChambeau's links strategy earlier in the week on a Sky Sports Golf Podcast. DeChambeau's comments appeared to reference those remarks directly.
