Bryson DeChambeau answers Nick Faldo's 'zero clue' jibe with strong start at British Open

[p]Armed with a set of 3D-printed irons, the two-time ‌US Open champion appeared to enjoy every minute of his opening round, high-fiving fans as he plotted his ‌way round the undulating course in impressive fashion.[/p][p]The 32-year-old certainly did not resemble ‌a player three-time Open winner [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/faldo-nick/fsHhWn0S/"]Nick Faldo[/a] accused of having "zero clue on strategy" in the build-up ‌to the tournament -- beginning his round with back-to-back birdies and making three more ‌on the back nine.[/p][p]A bogey at the 18th when he missed a short par putt left a sour taste but with conditions fast and fiery, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/dechambeau-bryson/vZG7Cn7s/"]DeChambeau[/a] has put himself in the mix for an assault ‌on the Claret Jug.[/p][p]"[b]It was a hard-fought battle out ⁠there. The wind was switching quite a bit. ‌It was fun seeing the fans going at us, and they were rooting for all of ​us[/b]," DeChambeau, one of the sport's most charismatic characters, told reporters.[/p][p]"[b]It was fun just seeing the ups and downs of the group, but we all ​played pretty well. It was a lot of fun[/b]."[/p][embed guid="8b21dde8-4609-4531-8322-0546c00405f4" url="https://x.com/GolfDigest/status/2077788614499381400" social-type="twitter" /][p]DeChambeau, known for his ultra-aggressive style and love of booming huge drives down the fairway, has missed the cut at all ⁠three previous majors this year. But ​on Thursday he outshone playing partners, 2025 champion [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/scheffler-scottie/bXfIuBYu/"]Scottie Scheffler[/a] who carded a two-under round of 68 and England's [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/hatton-tyrrell/nZnQbO2h/"]Tyrrell Hatton[/a] (69).[/p][p]"[b]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[/b]," ‌he said. "[b]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[/b]."[/p][p]DeChambeau actually offered a clue that he is mastering links golf last year at Royal Portrush when, after an opening round seven-over 78, he put together sizzling rounds of 65, 68 and 64 to finish in a tie for 10th.[/p][p]Playing partner Hatton said no one should be surprised at his impressive start at Royal Birkdale.[/p][p]"[b]He flights the ball great. His ball flight today was really good. He didn't really hit many bad shots[/b]," Hatton ‌said.[/p][p]DeChambeau said he liked it when the test was "difficult" and enjoyed playing with world ​number one Scheffler.[/p][p]"[b]Any time you get off to a great start, it's awesome, ‌but there's three more days[/b]," he said. "[b]There's still a lot of golf to be played. But ultimately from my perspective I was really excited about the way I played[/b].[/p][p]"[b]It was fun playing with Scottie, seeing how good he strikes the ball. I've wanted to play with him for a while now. Seeing how he struck ⁠the ball today was beautiful[/b].[/p][p]"[b]It's a good ⁠gauge, right? It tells me kind ‌of where my game's at. Also shows me where he's at[/b]."[/p]