The 2026 Open: Faldo dismisses DeChambeau’s chances of Royal Birkdale glory
Big-hitting Bryson DeChambeau feels he has a ‘chance’ of lifting the Claret Jug at the 2026 Open at Royal Birkdale - but Sir Nick Faldo does not feel he has the right strategy to win.
American DeChambeau is best known for his power and distance off the tee - but links golf demands accuracy and touch over striving to find the fairways.
Bookmakers rate the 32-year-old as a 66/1 chance for glory on Sunday, and he is in confident mood, telling Live At The Range in the build-up: "This is a tough golf course; I like it.
"It really tests every facet of your game.
"I've got new irons in the bag. They were 3D-printed. They take about an hour to print. From machining and printing and all the different processes we make.
"It's cool with my irons; they're spinning out of the rough more consistently. It's a new set of irons with different grooves. We've already sent them to the USGA."
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In with a chance
DeChambeau added: "On a course like this, if I feel good I know I can give myself a chance.
"I know I haven't had the best results this year, but I've won twice, and top-three'd three times. Just a couple of weird things happening at the majors.
"If it goes well for me this week, great.
“If it doesn't, I'll keep moving on and creating as much as I can."
No clue on strategy
Faldo was the last Englishman to claim the Claret Jug when he won The Open for a third time in 1992.
And the golf pundit does not feelDeChambeau will be in the mix when it comes to final-round Sunday, saying on the Sky Sports Golf podcast: “DeChambeau has zero clue of strategy.
"He said last year: '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.
"You look at humps and bumps. If I send it over and feed it, it nudges back into play.
“You don't think: 'Oh, I'll just blast it down there. Can't see where I'm going'. The fairway is 20 yards wide.
"Even if you hit it fantastic and it lands on the corner of a divot, you might still miss the fairway.
"So you've got to think: 'How do I get it on the short grass?' It is so important.
"There's no need to put yourself under pressure to hit the fairway with your driver. You've just got to think like that. That's the priority when playing links golf."
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