Bryson DeChambeau enters The Open Championship under more scrutiny than perhaps any player in the field.
The two-time U.S. Open champion has yet to make a cut in a major this season and now faces growing criticism from both golf legends and fans just days before teeing off at Royal Birkdale. While six-time major champion Sir Nick Faldo questioned DeChambeau’s links strategy earlier this week, social media has piled on after the LIV Golf star posted another YouTube teaser instead of practice content.
The criticism comes after DeChambeau missed the cut at the Masters, PGA Championship and U.S. Open, leaving The Open as his final opportunity to salvage his 2026 major season.
Will Bryson make the cut?
Fans Question DeChambeau’s Focus Before Final Major
DeChambeau’s latest Instagram post promoted an upcoming YouTube video filmed among California’s towering redwood trees, with the caption: “Normally I just hit it over the trees. Not here… Golfing in the world’s tallest tree forest!”
Instead of celebrating the content, many fans questioned whether the nine-time PGA Tour winner is dedicating enough attention to preparing for golf’s oldest championship.
That same sentiment quickly spread across X after videos surfaced of DeChambeau practicing at Royal Birkdale.
One popular post simply asked, “Will Bryson make the cut?” Another fan wrote, “We went from ‘will Bryson be in contention on Sunday’ to ‘will Bryson make the cut’ very fast, that’s golf.”
Others were even more critical.
“Hell no, dude’s too focused on YouTube instead of PGA Tour golf,” one fan posted.
Another joked that DeChambeau was “0/4 made cuts incoming,” referencing his bid to avoid missing all four major championship cuts in the same season.
The criticism reflects a growing narrative surrounding DeChambeau. While his YouTube channel has become one of golf’s biggest digital success stories, some fans believe his focus on content creation has come at the expense of tournament results.
Sir Nick Faldo Questions DeChambeau’s Open Strategy
The online criticism arrived just after Sir Nick Faldo publicly questioned DeChambeau’s approach to links golf.
Speaking on Sky Sports, the six-time major champion argued that DeChambeau’s aggressive style simply doesn’t fit courses like Royal Birkdale.
“He has zero clue of strategy,” Faldo said.
Referring to comments DeChambeau previously made about attacking links golf, Faldo added: “You don’t attack a links. You feed it down the fairway.”
Faldo explained that successful links golf requires patience and positioning rather than overpowering a course.
“You’ve got to think, how do I get it on the short grass? It is so important,” Faldo said. “And here’s standard, ‘I’ll just keep bombing away.'”
The concerns are backed by recent results.
DeChambeau is 18-over par across his first three major championships this season and has missed the cut at all three events. Historically, The Open has also been his least successful major, producing just two top-30 finishes in eight career starts.
Still, there is at least one reason for optimism.
The last time DeChambeau made a cut in a major came at last year’s Open Championship, where he finished tied for 10th at Royal Portrush. With only one major remaining in 2026, he’ll have one final opportunity to silence both Faldo and the growing number of critics questioning whether his attention has shifted too far away from competitive golf.
Bryson DeChambeau Faces Major Backlash Ahead of Open Championship