Bryson DeChambeau fires back at pre-Open criticism with audacious claim

Bryson DeChambeau says he'll be disappointed if he doesn't win The Open. 

DeChambeau, 32, enters the final men's major of the year at Royal Birkdale facing plenty of criticism. 

Sir Nick Faldo, a three-time Open champion, was among those to take aim at the American, insisting the LIV Golf recruit has "zero clue" about strategy. 

Golf Channel's Brandel Chamblee also twisted the knife on DeChambeau in a segment on Live From The Open on Tuesday by saying the two-time U.S. Open winner "wants to outdo every YouTuber in the game instead of out play everybody in the game of golf."

But DeChambeau has fired back with confidence, insisting that he's not bothered by the outside noise. 

He also declared if he leaves Royal Birkdale on Sunday without the Claret Jug he'll be disappointed. 

"I'm not trying to send a message to anybody other than me and myself, and knowing what I know I can do," he told The Mirror US. 

"You know, if I don't win, I'll be disappointed. Anything else is a loss, whether it's second or anything past that, you know?

"Yeah, it's always nice to play well and have a good finish, and you're always proud of yourself, but at the end of the day, you know, I'm a competitor, and I care about winning and doing my best, and, hopefully I can do that this week."

DeChambeau is preparing to make his ninth Open appearance this week. 

On his eight previous visits, he has missed the cut on three occasions. 

His best finish came at the landmark 150th Open at St Andrews four years ago where he shared eighth. 

The aforementioned Faldo explained that DeChambeau needs to understand that you can't bash driver everywhere at golf's oldest major and distance control is of upmost importance. 

DeChambeau said he's worked hard on his wedge game over the last few weeks. 

He has not played competitively since he missed the cut at the 2026 U.S. Open. 

"They're getting better," he said. "I steepened my angle of attack, so it feels a lot better. Hopefully it showcases out there.

"You have to control your golf ball out here, and there's a lot of tricky areas," he said. 

"A lot of dog legs, and you get to make sure you place the ball in the correct part of the dog legs, so you have a good shot into the greens.

"Ten’s a great example of that. You could do seven-iron up there, you could drive her up there, or get a really bad line, the rough, you know? 

"And it's just diabolical when it's really firm and fast, so it's a great setup. I like it."

And DeChambeau said that he's aware that, other than one driveable par-four, he's going to be cautious off the tee. 

"[On] 10 I could potentially drive and get up there in a bunker," he said. "So other than that, it's irons onto the fairway.

"It's a lot of, it's a lot of putting and chipping around the greens.

"You take your time around the greens. But the thing for me is, if I can improve my iron plate, then hit it closer. 

"Hopefully, shouldn't have those weird shots around the greens, but they'll be there. 

"I just gotta choose the right clubs and make sure I'm putting myself on the fats of the greens."