Bryson DeChambeau's "going to be terrible": Johnson Wagner makes brutal prediction ahead of the Open
Jun 19, 2026; Southampton, New York, USA; Bryson DeChambeau lines up a putt on the second hole during the second round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
Jun 19, 2026; Southampton, New York, USA; Bryson DeChambeau lines up a putt on the second hole during the second round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
Bryson DeChambeau is having a major season to forget. At Royal Birkdale, the two-time major champion will try his best to avoid four consecutive missed cuts at major championships, but former PGA Tour pro Johnson Wagner is not optimistic about his chances.
DeChambeau has not been particularly successful at The Open, and Wagner recently pointed to one aspect of his game that could make life difficult at Royal Birkdale.
"You talk about Bryson DeChambeau, I think he's going to be terrible at Birkdale. I mean, with the dunes running down the sides of pretty much both fairways, if we get any sort of heavy winds, The Open Championship is by far his worst event," Wagner said on the CBS Scorecard podcast.
May 15, 2026; Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, USA; Bryson DeChambeau plays his shot on the seventh tee during the second round of the PGA Championship golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
May 15, 2026; Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, USA; Bryson DeChambeau plays his shot on the seventh tee during the second round of the PGA Championship golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
Adverse weather conditions on the courses on The Open rota have been the kryptonite for DeChambeau. The LIV golfer has failed to make the cut three times in his eight appearances at The Open.
The 32-year-old has made the top 10 twice, in 2022 and 2025, but under favorable conditions. Low scoring prevailed across the leaderboard when DeChambeau recorded his best performances.
“He played pretty decent the last three rounds at Portrush last year, but that’s because we had a little bit of rain and there was no wind. The course was softer. He could throw the ball up in the air. He’s proven to me that he cannot flight it down,” he added on the Scorecard podcast.
Last time around, DeChambeau started poorly at The Open. However, as the windy conditions subsided, he found his rhythm and put together a strong finish. Time and again, the LIV golfer has failed to keep his shots out of the wind.
This time around, the conditions are not predicted to be benign. Rather, a fast, windy Royal Birkdale awaits DeChambeau, who will be trying to make the cut after three missed cuts in majors this season.
DeChambeau’s missed cuts this season
This year, DeChambeau has failed to make the cut at the first three majors of a season for the first time in his career. He'll try his best not to worsen that record at The Open Championship.
“To be honest, missed cuts are gonna happen,” DeChambeau told Flushing It when asked about his major form.
At Augusta, DeChambeau was inside the cut line and all set to make the weekend. However, a triple-bogey 7 on his final hole did him no favors.
Similarly, at Aronimink, he failed to find his groove and shot rounds of 76 and 71 to finish at 7-over.
At the U.S. Open, DeChambeau shot rounds of 70 and 75 at the challenging Shinnecock Hills and ended up 5-over par. He eventually missed the cut by two shots.
Do you think DeChambeau will be able to make the cut at Royal Birkdale? Share your thoughts in the comments.
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Written by
Avishek Sarkar
Edited by
Pulkit Prabhav