The biggest story thus far at the British Open has to do with one word—strategy. In case you missed it on Thursday, Bryson DeChambeau shot a three-under 67 and then used his very brief post-round interview to take a few not-so-subtle shots at Hall of Famer Nick Faldo over comments that the six-time major champion winner made about him earlier in the week.
Winners and Losers From First Round of British Open: Petty Bryson DeChambeau Steals the Show
Faldo, who won three British Opens during his legendary career, had some pretty biting, and also accurate, words about DeChambeau’s play on links courses over the years, saying: “He has—I’d say it to his face—he has zero clue of strategy. I mean, he said it last year and then I think on TV, ‘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.”
Sir Nick Faldo certainly not holding back ahead of The Open 😳 pic.twitter.com/xkPnyGaJuq
— Sky Sports Golf (@SkySportsGolf) July 14, 2026
DeChambeau then said this after his opening round: “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.”
"I felt like my strategy was nice today."
— GOLF.com (@GOLF_com) July 16, 2026
Bryson DeChambeau mentioned strategy a few times in his only post-round comments today. 🤣 pic.twitter.com/urNVm2zflx
Well, on Friday morning, Faldo responded to DeChambeau’s comments and he seemed to stick by his takes while also saying the two are friends and that he’s wishing him the best this week at Royal Birkdale.
“The Bryson thing, the strategy thing has gone too far, as usual. I’m an analyst, I say something, fine,” Faldo said in a video posted on his social media. “No. 1, I’m a big fan of Bryson, let’s get that out. We text each other through the season, I have respect for him and his game. But it’s fair to say over the last couple of years he hasn’t shown much strategy on a links golf course and I believe I know a little bit about strategy from my day. But interestingly Day 1, threw the strategy thing into the ring, talked about it, did it, played it and shot a great score. Now if he keeps doing that and the way the golf course is playing hard and fast as we all know, I think we all agree, strategy will be key to becoming the champion golfer of the year so I do wish him all the best. If he keeps it going and keeps playing well maybe he will be right there on Sunday to be the champion golfer of the year. All the best.”
Morning Report from The Open: Strategy rocks & rules! 💥 pic.twitter.com/dIgvDwqXrd
— Sir Nick Faldo (@Sir_NickFaldo) July 17, 2026
That was a pretty fair response from Faldo, and good for him for not hiding from what has become the juiciest storyline so far at this year’s British Open. He does know what it takes to win a British Open and he’s an analyst, so he did nothing wrong in voicing his opinions about DeChambeau’s struggles on links courses.
How Bryson DeChambeau has finished in previous British Opens
This is ninth time DeChambeau has played in the British Open. His best finish is a T8 at St. Andrews in 2022.
Here’s a look at all of his finishes:
| Year | Course | Finish |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Royal Portrush | T10 |
| 2024 | Royal Troon | Missed Cut |
| 2023 | Royal Liverpool | T60 |
| 2022 | St. Andrews | T8 |
| 2021 | Royal St. Georges | T33 |
| 2019 | Royal Portrush | Missed Cut |
| 2018 | Carnoustie | T51 |
| 2017 | Royal Birkdale | Missed Cut |
What will DeChambeau do on Friday?
DeChambeau attacked the course on Thursday and it paid off, as he was just a few shots back of the leaders after the first round.
It will be interesting to see how he decides to take on the course on Friday (he tees off at 10:04 a.m. ET). DeChambeau only hit four fairways in his first round but didn’t find too much trouble when he wasn’t able to keep it in the short stuff. He hit 15 of 18 greens, which is pretty darn good, and made five birdies. However, if he gets a few bad bounces in the second round after pounding his driver down the baked-out fairways, he could find it more difficult to post another low score and get in contention.
Strategy will be the key once again. And we’ll see after his round if it continues to be a hot topic of discussion.
