Bryson DeChambeau heads to The Open with an unwanted storyline hanging over him.
After missing the cut at the Masters, PGA Championship and U.S. Open in 2026, the question is no longer just whether he can contend. It is whether he can even make the weekend. One more early exit would complete the full set: four missed cuts from four majors in the same season.
For a player with DeChambeau’s profile, that is a brutal run.
This is not a fringe player struggling to get into major fields. This is a two-time U.S. Open champion, one of the most powerful drivers in the game and still one of golf’s biggest names. That is what makes the run so jarring. Missing one major cut can happen. Missing three in a row starts to look like a pattern.
The Open may also be the least forgiving place to fix it.
Royal Birkdale is not a course where raw speed solves every problem. Links golf rewards control, patience and acceptance. Players have to manage wind, firm ground, pot bunkers, awkward lies and bounces that do not always feel fair. DeChambeau can overpower plenty of courses, but links golf tends to ask a different question: can you take what the course gives you?
That is where the doubt comes from.
If he drives it well and keeps the ball out of the worst trouble, he has more than enough quality to make the cut comfortably. His length still gives him chances that most players do not have. Shorter par 5s, reachable holes and wedge approaches can quickly undo a poor spell.
But if the driver goes sideways, Birkdale could make the week uncomfortable very quickly. Miss in the wrong places and links golf does not always offer a clean recovery. A heavy lie, a bunker with no forward shot or a gust at the wrong time can turn one loose swing into a double bogey.
The bigger issue is rhythm. DeChambeau’s best golf looks aggressive but controlled. His worst golf can look forced, especially when he is chasing a score or trying to prove a point. At The Open, forcing it is usually punished.
So, will he complete the grand slam of missed cuts?
It is possible, and the concern is fair. Three missed major cuts in a row is not bad luck by itself. It suggests something is off, whether that is form, preparation, course fit or decision-making.
But it would still be a bold call to say he definitely misses another. DeChambeau only needs two steady rounds to stop the story. He does not need to win The Open. He does not even need to be near the lead. He just needs to play disciplined golf for 36 holes.
The problem is that disciplined golf at Birkdale is exactly the test.
If he accepts the course, manages the wind and avoids the big numbers, he should make the weekend. If he tries to bully a proper links setup, the grand slam of missed cuts could become very real.
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