​SOUTHPORT, England – Bryson DeChambeau fired back at his critics on Thursday by letting his clubs do the talking.The two-time U.S. Open champion carded five birdies en route to shooting 3-under 67 at Royal Birkdale Golf Club and sits one stroke off the lead early in the first round of the 154th British Open.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementMore: The Open 2026 leaderboard, Thursday tee times, live updates from Royal BirkdaleIt marks just the second time in nine starts that he’s broken par in the first round of the Open and his lowest first-round score in the championship. It also was 11 strokes better than his start at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland at this championship a year ago.1 / 5Matthew Baldwin tees off on the first hole on day one of the The 154th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale on July 16, 2026 in Southport, England.(Andrew Redington/Getty Images)It’s the type of start that bodes well for ending his major championship misery this season. DeChambeau, 32, has missed the cut at the Masters, PGA Championship and U.S. Open this season. Should he miss the cut this week, he would be the first multiple-major winner under the age of 40 to miss all four cuts in a season. His game has fallen off from two years ago when he won the U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2 and was in the midst of a stretch of six top-10s across eight majors.”It’s almost like he went from chasing Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy to chasing Grant Horvat,” Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee said of DeChambeau on Monday, comparing him to a popular YouTube star. “It’s like he wants to outdo every YouTuber in the game of golf instead of outplay everybody in the game of golf.”Bryson DeChambeau plays his tee shot on the first hole during the first round of The Open 2026 at Royal Birkdale.DeChambeau birdied the first two holes, sinking putts of 9 and 18 feet. He launched his tee shot at the 380-yard par-4 10th hole to light rough within 23 yards of the green and pitched to 4 feet. He made his first bogey of the day at the par-5 14th, but at 16, he wedged to inside 5 feet for another birdie and one hole later at the par 5, he chipped to a foot for his fifth birdie of the day. That lifted him into a tie for the lead but he missed an 8-foot par putt at the last.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAfter his round, DeChambeau declined to speak to the media, just as he had done at recent majors, and instead provided a few remarks to a media official.“Definitely satisfying. Any time you get off to a great start, it’s awesome, but there’s three more days, dude,” he said. “There’s still a lot of golf to be played. But ultimately from my perspective I was really excited about the way I played.”Nick Faldo also questioned DeChambeau’s game plan. “He has zero clue of strategy,” Faldo said.While it’s unclear whether DeChambeau was directing his comments at Faldo, DeChambeau complimented his strategy on Thursday.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“I feel