Six-time major winner Sir Nick Faldo shared his thoughts on DeChambeau’s game. The three-time Open champion believes DeChambeau has “zero clue” about strategy and urged the American to change his approach to links courses if he wants to win the Claret Jug.
ALSO READ: 2026 Open Championship Full Field: Meet All 156 Players Competing at Royal Birkdale
Bryson DeChambeau heads into the 2026 Open Championship with plenty to prove after a difficult run in the major championships this season. While he has enjoyed success on LIV Golf, his form in golf’s biggest events has not matched those performances.
The two-time U.S. Open champion has missed the cut at all three majors in 2026, making The Open at Royal Birkdale his final opportunity to avoid going winless in the majors this year. Despite those struggles, DeChambeau remains one of the game’s biggest names because of his powerful style of play and aggressive approach.
Faldo Questions DeChambeau’s Links Strategy
Speaking before The Open, Faldo did not hold back when discussing DeChambeau’s approach.
“I’d say it to his face – DeChambeau has zero clue of strategy,” Faldo said. “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.”
Sir Nick Faldo certainly not holding back ahead of The Open 😳 pic.twitter.com/xkPnyGaJuq
— Sky Sports Golf (@SkySportsGolf) July 14, 2026
Faldo, who won three Open Championships, two at Muirfield and one at the Old Course at St. Andrews, added that a more conservative plan is required to conquer Royal Birkdale this week. He believes that players usually succeed by keeping the ball in play, controlling their shots , and adapting to changing wind conditions rather than trying to overpower the course. Royal Birkdale, he believes, demands the same disciplined approach.
DeChambeau Looks for a Major Turnaround
While DeChambeau has struggled in the majors, he has still enjoyed a successful 2026 season elsewhere. He claimed victories at LIV Golf Singapore and LIV Golf South Africa in March, showing that his game remains capable of producing winning golf.
His Open Championship record has also improved in recent years. He finished tied for eighth at St. Andrews in 2022 and followed that with a tie for 10th at Royal Portrush last year after recovering from a poor opening round.
Even so, the missed cuts at this year’s Masters, PGA Championship and U.S. Open have raised questions about whether his aggressive style works consistently in major championships.
Royal Birkdale now gives DeChambeau one more chance to change that story. If he can combine his power with a smarter strategy, he could challenge for the Claret Jug. If he sticks to the same attacking approach that Faldo criticized, the three-time Open champion believes another disappointing week could follow.
Main Photo Credit: © Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
