Bryson DeChambeau, once a golf world titan, is heading into The Open Championship barely part of the conversation, sitting at a staggering 66-1 at BetMGM. This is the last major of the season, folks, and right now, it feels like his entire 2026 major run has been a total bust. He's tied with guys like Jordan Spieth, Shane Lowry, and Brooks Koepka, all former major champions who are also searching for relevancy again.
From Top-Four Superstar to Missing Cuts: What Happened?
Just last year in 2025, DeChambeau was on fire. He bagged three top-10 finishes in majors, cementing his spot among the elite top four in the world, right there with Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, and Jon Rahm. Coming into 2026, after a dominant start to the LIV Golf season, everyone thought he was primed to snag his third major title. The hype was real! He rolled into the Masters in April as the third favorite with 10-1 odds, just behind Rahm and even ahead of the eventual winner, McIlroy. But what actually went down? He missed the cut, leaving Augusta National fuming after a catastrophic double bogey on the 18th from a greenside bunker. That's a gut punch, right?"No Boom and All Bust" for the Scientist
We all know DeChambeau has always been a "boom-or-bust" kind of player in majors; for eight straight majors, it was either a top 10 finish or a missed cut. This year, though? It's been all bust, no boom. The PGA Championship went up in flames early, and he never even sniffed the weekend at Aronimink. Then came the U.S. Open, a major he's won twice before! It seemed like the perfect spot for a comeback. He started strong, but then imploded on Friday and, you guessed it, missed the cut again. It's tough to watch when a guy who was once one of the top four in the world is now struggling to even make it to Saturday. What's going on with "The Scientist"? It's hard to nail down one thing. There are constant equipment changes, and you have to wonder if he's tinkering too much, maybe even gone a little mad looking for a magic fix instead of grinding on his game. That stuff clearly messes with his confidence. He's quick to blame his gear and seems to lose faith in his ability to execute shots. Add to that the constant rumblings about LIV Golf's future, which started around the Masters. With his LIV contract nearing expiration, that uncertainty has got to be bleeding into his focus on the course.The Open: One Last Shot for DeChambeau's Season
So here we are, Royal Birkdale. This is DeChambeau's ninth Open Championship start, and it's his final shot to salvage anything from his 2026 major season. After such high expectations, seeing him fall off the map like this is wild. Can he pull off a miracle, or is this "all bust" trend going to continue? The stakes couldn't be higher for him, and honestly, we're all watching to see if he can even contend.This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.