A day after a 78, Bryson DeChambeau rebounds with a 65 to make the cut at Open Championship

AI-assisted summary
• Bryson DeChambeau rebounded from a first-round 78 with a 6-under 65 to make the cut at the 2025 British Open at Royal Portrush.
• DeChambeau credited his father's advice to never give up for his improved performance.
• He acknowledged the challenges of links golf and his struggles with it in the past.

PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland – Bryson DeChambeau bounced back from an opening-round 78 to shoot 6-under 65 on Friday at Royal Portrush Golf Club and rallied to make the cut at the 2025 British Open.

DeChambeau improved from seven greens in regulation to 17, from 147th to fourth in Strokes Gained: Approach ad zero birdies to seven. Of his Dr. Jekyll-Mr. Hyde performance, he said, “There wasn't much different. That's why links golf is the way links golf is.”

DeChambeau, who improved to a 36-hole total of 1-over 143, said he was feeling down and out after seemingly shooting himself out of the golf tournament during a round that included a whiffed shot. He was ready to go home but when he woke up he told himself that was the wrong attitude.

“My dad always told me never to give up, just got to keep going, and that's what I did today. I was proud of the way I fought back, really persevered through some emotionally difficult moments, and to hold myself together and not get pissed and slam clubs and throw things and all that like I wanted to, like I was very proud of myself,” he said.

DeChambeau had missed the cut three times in seven previous appearances, including at Royal Portrush in 2019 and last year at Royal Troon. His high ball flight and inability to hit left-to-right shots into right-to-left winds has made him susceptible to the elements at the Open. Phil Mickelson before him had to figure out the intricacies of links golf and eventually became a champion at Muirfield in 2013. DeChambeau said he’s willing to do the same work. 

“In order to be a complete golfer you've got to win over here,” DeChambeau said. “That's something I've struggled to do. I've played well at times when it's dry and greens are more consistent in their bounce and the greens are a little bit better. But when it gets as chaotic as this, with the wind going every which way, flipping on 18 completely, when you're preparing all day for that left-to-right wind off 18, you have to be a complete golfer that pivots on demand.”

Thanks to seven birdies on Friday, DeChambeau will have two more rounds to learn how to be a more complete golfer.