Scheffler shoots 68, DeChambeau 67 in Open first round

The first round of the 154th Open Championship began Thursday at Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England. Scottie Scheffler shot 68 and Bryson DeChambeau shot 67 after the early wave.

Scheffler birdied four of the first six holes, including a 14-foot putt on the ninth, then made a bogey on the par-3 seventh after a mishit tee shot. He followed with nine straight pars before a bogey on the par-5 17th, the easiest hole of the day. Scheffler pushed his approach from 253 yards on the 17th badly right into heavy rough.

His ball lay buried under a wire. He considered an unplayable lie penalty but played the shot instead. "I was just shocked at how deep the ball was in that grass," Scheffler said. His third shot crossed the fairway and he made bogey.

Scheffler came into the event after missing the cut at the Scottish Open the previous week, his first missed cut in nearly four years. "Anytime you can shoot under par to start a major championship, it's a good spot to be in," he said.

Playing with a full set of 3D-printed irons he fabricated, DeChambeau made five birdies and one bogey on the 18th while gaining more than 2.5 strokes on approach. Three-time Open winner Nick Faldo said on Sky Sports that DeChambeau has "zero clue of strategy" for links golf. DeChambeau told an R&A official he was "incredibly strategic" and focused on placing shots correctly.

"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," DeChambeau said. The two-time U.S. Open champion is trying to avoid becoming the first multiple-major winner in 28 years to miss the cut in all four majors.