The Open Championship: Bryson DeChambeau makes first major cut in 2026, sits alone in 2nd after criticism at Royal Birkdale

After an awful start in 2026, Bryson DeChambeau is by far the biggest name near the top of the leaderboard at the midway point of the British Open.ANDY BUCHANAN via Getty ImagesHe waited until the last possible opportunity, but Bryson DeChambeau is finally into the weekend at a major championship in 2026.

>He’s also by far the biggest name at the top of the leaderboard at Royal Birkdale, and suddenly in a position to claim his first major championship in more than two years — something that would have been shocking just a few days ago after how bad the year has gone for him.

>DeChambeau, after an opening-round 67, carded a 4-under 66 on Friday at the British Open. That got him to 7-under on the week, just one-shot back from solo leader Lucas Herbert, who posted a near-historic 62 in the early wave to jump out in front. Herbert and DeChambeau will go off in the final group together on Saturday.

>After making the turn at 1-under on Friday, DeChambeau took off down the stretch to close the gap between him and Herbert. He joined the group in second after a very easy up-and-down birdie at the par-5 17th. After missing the reachable green long, he settled for a very easy chip and putt.

ELITE bump-and-run from Bryson DeChambeau 🔥

He birdies 17 to go 6-under and T-2 at The Open 📈 pic.twitter.com/7QWpm3ouAx

— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) July 17, 2026DeChambeau walked up the 18th green to a loud ovation before he sank one final birdie putt, which got him within a shot of Herbert.

>DeChambeau has now carded five straight rounds in the 60s at The Open, dating back to last year when he finished T10 at Royal Portrush, and he’s gone an impressive 23-under in that span. Remarkably, he is the only former major championship winner within three shots of the lead at The Open. All eyes on Moving Day will be on him.

DeChambeau dominating after brutal 2026, criticismDeChambeau had been bad at the first three majors of the season. He missed the cut at the Masters in April, and then failed to make the weekend at both the PGA Championship and the U.S. Open in the following months. He failed to even post a round under par at any of those stops, either. The golfer that was seemingly always in contention at the majors in recent years, and the one who had topped Rory McIlroy at a U.S. Open, was long gone.

>With what was going on off the course — LIV Golf is standing on its last legs after Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund opted to pull funding from the league after the 2026 campaign, and DeChambeau has started putting a lot more attention onto his YouTube channel — it was fair to wonder if DeChambeau would be able to truly compete at the majors again at all.

>There was also Nick Faldo, the golfing legend who absolutely lit DeChambeau up while speaking with Sky Sports before the tournament.

>“He has, I’d say it to his face, he has zero clue of strategy,” Faldo said, in part, referring to links golf.

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>But despite his earlier struggles, and the loud criticism, DeChambeau looked very put together and calm on Thursday. He posted a 3-under 67 in the opening round, and was just a bogey away from holding a share of the clubhouse lead.

>DeChambeau responded a bit on Thursday when talking to the R&A’s reporter — he declined to speak with other reporters on site — and threw in a version of the word “strategy” multiple times while talking about his 3-under 67.

“I think you’ve got to be a lot more strategic out on the golf course,” he said. “I feel like I did a really good job today of being incredibly strategic and focused super hard on placing it in the right places.”

With how the first 36 holes went, Faldo’s take, clearly, did not hold up. Faldo even addressed his DeChambeau comments on social media on Friday morning, and walked them back a bit.

“The Bryson strategy thing has gone too far, as usual,” Faldo said. “Yes, I’m an analyst. I’m on a podcast. I say something, fine. But, number one, I’m a big fan of Bryson. Let’s get that out … I have respect for him and his game. But it is fair to say over the last couple of years, he hasn’t shown much strategy on a links golf course. And I believe I know a little bit about strategy from my day … I do wish him all the best. If he keeps it going and keeps playing well, maybe he will be right there on Sunday to be the champion golfer of the year.”

Morning Report from The Open: Strategy rocks & rules! 💥 pic.twitter.com/dIgvDwqXrd

— Sir Nick Faldo (@Sir_NickFaldo) July 17, 2026Keeping this going isn’t going to be easy. But so far, DeChambeau has done exactly what he needed to prove Faldo and others completely wrong out on the course at Royal Birkdale.

>Making the weekend almost felt like a requirement for DeChambeau to salvage the year. With that now accomplished, and the biggest names on the leaderboard now chasing him, DeChambeau is now free to make a run at a major title once again.

>We’ll see if he can pull that off.