Scheffler escapes Birkdale rough as DeChambeau starts fast at Open
Scottie Scheffler shot 68 despite a messy 17th, while Bryson DeChambeau opened with 67 after Nick Faldo questioned his links strategy.
By Georgia Hale · Staff Writer
3 min read
Scottie Scheffler’s first round at the 154th Open Championship nearly got swallowed by the thick stuff at Royal Birkdale.
The world No. 1, playing Thursday in Southport, England, pushed a 253-yard approach well right on the par-5 17th, according to ESPN. His ball finished under a wire and buried in heavy rough, leaving Scheffler hoping for a lucky ruling that never came.
“I'm hoping somebody stepped on it, but nobody would fess up,” Scheffler said after the round, according to ESPN. “Apparently, nobody did. It was just one of those things.”
Scheffler said he weighed taking an unplayable lie, which would have cost him one shot, before deciding to swing at it. He managed to move the ball out, sending it skidding across the fairway, but the damage still showed on the card.
The defending Open Championship winner made bogey at 17, which ESPN reported was playing as Thursday’s easiest hole.
“Sometimes, you hit it over there and you get a clean lie and you're able to give yourself a look, and then other times like today, you pay a pretty severe price,” Scheffler said, according to ESPN. “But I guess don't hit it offline.”
Hot start, cooler finish
Even with the late stumble, Scheffler signed for a 2-under 68, leaving him tied for 10th after the early wave, ESPN reported. It was a tidy reset after he missed the cut at the Scottish Open the previous week, his first missed cut in nearly four years.
Scheffler came out flying. ESPN reported he birdied four of his first six holes, making birdie putts of 14 feet at No. 2, 7 1/2 feet at No. 3, 4 1/2 feet at No. 5 and 43 1/2 feet at No. 6.
His lone front-nine slip came at the par-3 seventh, where ESPN said he bogeyed after mishitting his tee shot. After the early birdie run, Scheffler made nine straight pars before the trouble at 17.
“Anytime you can shoot under par to start a major championship, it's a good spot to be in,” Scheffler said, according to ESPN. He added that he liked the way he struck the ball and said the tournament would be decided across 72 holes.
DeChambeau answers with 67
Scheffler’s playing partner, Bryson DeChambeau, had the sharper number. ESPN reported that DeChambeau shot a 3-under 67, good for a share of third place after the early wave.
DeChambeau, who missed the cut in the first three majors of the season, played with a full set of 3D-printed irons that he made, according to ESPN. His card included five birdies and a bogey at the 18th, and ESPN reported he gained more than 2 1/2 strokes on approach.
His round followed pointed criticism from three-time Open champion Nick Faldo, who told Sky Sports that DeChambeau had “zero clue of strategy” on links courses.
DeChambeau did not speak to reporters after the round, according to ESPN, but he discussed his play with an official from The R&A.
“I think you've got to be a lot more strategic out on the golf course,” DeChambeau said, according to The R&A. He said he felt he had done a strong job placing the ball correctly.
ESPN reported that DeChambeau is trying to avoid becoming the first multiple-major winner in 28 years to play all four majors in a season and miss the cut in each. Tom Watson and Ben Crenshaw last did it in 1998.
This story draws on original reporting from ESPN.com.