Bryson DeChambeau has responded to criticism of his course management with a sizzling opening round in The 154th Open Championship, while his fierce rival Rory McIlroy sits well off the pace at Royal Birkdale.
The Masters champion signed off on a two-over par 72 to sit seven shots behind surprise leader Jackson Subar and a number of high-profile Australians will need to fire on Friday to ensure they make the cut.
Watch every round of The Open Championship LIVE & EXCLUSIVE on Fox Sports, available on Kayo 19-22 June | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.
English legend Nick Faldo declared DeChambeau had “zero strategy” before the tournament began and the American referenced his “strategic” approach to shooting a 3-under par 67 that has him tied for fourth – alongside eight other players – when chatting to an R&A official.
After playing alongside world No.1 Scottie Scheffler and Tyrrell Hatton, who later said he was impressed with the way the LIV Golf superstar approached Royal Birkdale, the powerhouse continued his recent media ban as he seeks to make a cut for the first time this year in what has been a disastrous major season.
But the dual-US Open champion, who is two shots off the lead, said he had enjoyed playing alongside the world No.1 Scheffler, who finished at 2-under after starting with birdie blitz that saw him reach 4-under after six holes.
“Definitely. It’s a good gauge, right? It tells me kind of where my game is at (and it) also shows me where he’s at. It’s good to see it in person,” DeChambeau said told the tournament’s website.
“You always see it on TV, but it’s just a little different sometimes when you’re right there. That’s why it’s cool for people to be out here and see what Scottie and myself and Tyrrell can do, and everybody out here. It’s a great bunch of guys, and it was fun to play today.”
READ MORE
TALKING POINTS: Bitter truth in Bryson snub; glaring issue rears head AGAIN
LEADERBOARD: Live scores from The Open
TEE TIMES: Every Aussie grouping and everything you need to know
‘Good job today being strategic’ | 02:31
While DeChambeau and Scheffler were in good form, dual-Masters champion Rory McIlroy was among those to struggle in firmer and warmer conditions in the afternoon that 2022 champion Cameron Smith described as tricky.
The 2014 British Open champion turned at one-over and he fell down the leaderboard when he bogeyed 10 and 11.
Three-over was where McIlroy remained for much of the back nine as he traded birdies and bogeys before a birdie at the last ended his day on a high note.
“I’ll start with the positives. I drove the ball incredibly well,” McIlroy said.
“I took the golf course on off the tee. Obviously with the positions that I put myself in off the tee, I feel like I obviously should have shot a better score. Played the hard holes well. Birdied 13, 15 and 18 on the back.
“The two bogeys on the par-5s wasn’t great and I struggled the first two holes to get the speed of the greens. I felt like they were very inconsistent, just because some parts of the greens are still alive and growing and other parts have went really dead. It’s like, you’ve got this — sort of reminds me a bit of Pebble Beach when Pebble Beach gets like that for a U.S. Open. It’s just hard to judge the speed sometimes.
“Struggled with that early on. Sort of felt like I got it going a little bit, but yeah, just too many stupid mistakes. But every time I made a stupid mistake, thankfully I made a birdie to sort of keep myself in it.
“Not too far away. Hopefully we’ll get the better conditions tomorrow and maybe the greens are a little bit smoother in the morning. Go out there and shoot a good one and get myself right back in it for the weekend.”
By that stage Australia’s Min Woo Lee had hit the gym and been able to start preparing for his round on Friday after shooting an even par 70 to be the best-placed of the seven Australians in the field alongside Lucas Herbert and major debutant Cameron John.
After finishing runner-up in the Scottish Open last week, the 24th ranked Lee was able to make several critical saves which he credited to a recent change in his putting grip, with the Western Australian adopting a conventional approach last month.
“I’ve been putting cross-handed for a long time now, maybe four or five years, and it got to a point where it didn’t look fundamentally right,” he said.
“I mean, the results weren’t showing it. So (I) went to conventional (and have) just been doing a lot of work the last month or so. It’s been feeling pretty good, really good, I would say.
“(I showed) a bit of grit and a bit of patience. I think if I hit it like that a couple years ago or last year, I would have probably made a lot more bogeys. It was good to grind it out and shoot level-par. I didn’t have too much going great. So it was good to grind it out.”
READ MORE
Golf’s ‘craziest’ half-hour still stuns today. The chaos made a legend… but hid a ticking time bomb
‘This is nuts’: The Open is a brutal torture test… but this week will be downright ‘unprecedented’
‘The ultimate pro’: Aussie great’s historic first ahead of bid to ‘open golf to the world’
Lee’s high-profile compatriots Cameron Smith and Jason Day both shot 3-over and have work to do on Friday to make the cut, so too Adam Scott, who was one shot better at 2-over.
Day lamented leaving several shots on the course, saying he was dismayed with his putting and also his short game, while Smith felt that he had played well but was not able to keep the ball on the fairway enough.
“I left four or five shots out there, especially with my short game and putting,” Day said.
“I missed two relatively easy up-and-downs on the back side and then had two three-putts practically. Then I missed a really short birdie putt from like three feet. So that’s five shots right there.
“Instead of being 3-over, I should be at least 2-under without doing too much, without asking too much. I think overall it was pretty solid. I felt pretty good about my game. I just didn’t score well at all.”
READ MORE
Why Open could mark LIV death… as huge contract backflip revealed in $433m Hail Mary
‘Good for golf’: Superstar reignites push for Aussie major
This Aussie icon blew the world away 35 years ago. His sudden doomspiral still boggles
Smith was similarly frustrated but believes he will get the better of the conditions on Friday.
“I don’t think it was all really that bad,” he said.
“(I) got a lot of crosswinds off the tee and hit it into the rough by one or two metres a few times and
ended up making bogey.
“It was tough out there, though. Yeah, I don’t really think I would change a whole lot to be honest. (I) just needed a couple of
putts to go in that missed, and a couple more fairways would have been nice.
“I think we’re like third or fourth group tomorrow, so I’m looking forward to getting onto some fresher greens. They were getting pretty baked out and a little bit bouncy (and it) felt like you couldn’t really be aggressive.
“(I’m) looking forward to some fresher greens, hopefully see some putts go in.”
Travis Smyth, meanwhile, bounced back well after a rough start to card a 1-over 71 and give himself a chance of making the cut for the first time in a major.
“I think I’m ready to compete this time. Last time I was just like a deer in headlights; I didn’t really know what was going on. Everything was a completely new experience,” he said.
“This is a different experience, too, to that. I’ve only played three majors. I still s*** myself on the first tee. It’s still not easy yet. It’s never going to be easy.
“It’s just great. Majors is where you want to play, and it’s awesome. Pretty much every hole, apart from 16, was filled,
just filled with people that are just parked up there for the day, plus people walking around. The atmosphere was incredible.”
Meanwhile, at the top of the leaderboard, Jackson Suber leads a major championship for the first time in his career courtesy of a back nine blitz.
The 26-year-old made birdies at 10, 11, 14 and 16 before pulling off the shot off the day at the par 5 17th.
Suber struck a 4-iron from an awkward stance to five feet from the hole to make eagle and jump clear of the chasing pack.
Remarkably, the American told reporters that he had only played 27 holes of links golf in England in his life before the opening round.
There will be jubilation in the house near Birkdale that the second year PGA Tour member is sharing with his countryman Pierceson Coody, who shot 3-under to start his Open debut.
“This is my fifth day here. Monday was my first round of links golf, so I’ve played 27 holes before I played the first round today. I’ve never been to Europe,” Suber said.
Asked more about his preparations, Suber added: “I think I watched a YouTube video on every hole at Birkdale on Friday last week or Thursday, but besides that, yeah, just — I have a stats guy that’s helped me, of course, so just knowing that the pot bunkers are no good and stay out of those.”
Korea’s Sungjae Im and England’s Daniel Brown, who lead after the first round on debut in 2024, share second place at 4-under par.
Coody and DeChambeau are joined by Thomas Detry, Robert MacIntyre, Francesco Molinari, Alex Smalley, Ryan Gerard, MJ Daffue and Cameron Young in a share of fourth spot on the first page of the leaderboard.
Macintyre, never shy to speak his mind, was captured by a hot mic giving an X-rated assessment of the 18th hole.
He could be heard saying: “Such a s*** golf hole, innit? It really is.” to his caddie after hitting a wayward approach.
Despite the setback, MacIntyre was able to go up and down to rescue a par to close out his round.
Follow all the action in our live blog below. Can’t see it? Click here