Nick Faldo questions Bryson DeChambeau's links strategy ahead of Open challenge

DeChambeau is aiming to end a run of three consecutive missed cuts at the major championships with a strong performance at The Open at Royal Birkdale this week.

While the two-time US Open champion has struggled in recent major outings, he has enjoyed an impressive season on LIV Golf, winning titles at LIV Golf Singapore and LIV Golf South Africa in March.

While he rallied to finish tied for 10th at last year's Open Championship, DeChambeau endured a difficult start at Royal Portrush, opening with a seven-over-par 78 before battling to make the cut.

The American had adopted an aggressive game plan for the opening round, saying beforehand that his driver would be a key weapon in tackling the course.

Faldo, a three-time Open champion, believes DeChambeau's power game needs to be balanced with a more strategic approach when competing on traditional links layouts.

"DeChambeau has zero clue of strategy," Faldo told the Sky Sports Golf podcast.

"He said last year: 'I'm going to go out and attack the links'. Well, I've never attacked a links. You thread it, don't you? You feed it down the fairway.

"You look at humps and bumps. If I send it over and feed it, it nudges back into play. You don't think: 'Oh, I'll just blast it down there. Can't see where I'm going'. The fairway is 20 yards wide.

"Good luck! Even if you hit it fantastic and it lands on the corner of a divot, you might still miss the fairway.

"So you've got to think: 'How do I get it on the short grass?' It is so important."

Faldo explained that players need to start from the green and work backwards when deciding how to approach each hole on a links course, carefully considering the best positions to leave themselves for their next shots.

"I always used to look for all the downslopes because you don't have to hit the driver. You can twang your 1-iron or a 3-wood.

"You hit it on the downslope, it scoots forward, you get an extra 30 yards of run.

"There's no need to put yourself under pressure to hit the fairway with your driver. You've just got to think like that. That's the priority when playing links golf."