Bryson DeChambeau

From Mexico City to New York City, Wonderwall emerged as the soundtrack of England’s World Cup campaign, the anthem of the British summer and even sparked a spike of bucket hat sales once more.

So, it is fitting that Bryson DeChambeau, who is more than accustomed to different styles of headwear, went by another Oasis classic as he approached The 154th Open: Don’t Look Back in Anger.

The two-time US Open champion has missed the cut at each major this season and is hoping to not become the first multiple major winner since 1998 to complete the set.

But based on his first round at Royal Birkdale, where he adapted to testing dry conditions to shoot a well-crafted 67, that previous form went straight out of the window.

Wonderwall is expected to top the UK charts this weekend. On this evidence, DeChambeau might too.

“It was a lot of fun,” he said.

Indeed, it was.

DeChambeau was captivating from the 1st tee to the 18th green.

A packed gallery followed his every move and had his Californian accent not been so strong, you would be forgiven for thinking he was from Merseyside, England, instead of Modesto, California.

The Royal Birkdale dunes are not always easy to navigate for the spectators but they crammed on every lump and bump and tolerated even the prickliest blackberry bush for a glimpse of the popular American.

They gasped at the power of his tee shots, swooned at the accuracy of his irons, and bemoaned each birdie chance that came and went.

A score of three-under-par is arguably the highest he could have shot.

DeChambeau was not all that accurate from the tee – finding just four of 14 fairways – but with sections of the rough relatively tame due to dry conditions, it was less of an issue.

His approach shots, however, were excellent. DeChambeau found 15 of 18 greens, created six birdie chances inside 10 feet, a further three inside 20 feet and 12 in total inside 30 feet.

On firm greens, it was an exhibition in controlling a golf ball.

The putter somewhat let him down, with five birdies converted to go with bogeys at 14 and 18.

He grimaced on the greens but walked off the 18th relieved to be well-placed in the Championship. Even if these are very early days.

“Any time you get off to a great start, it's awesome, but there's three more days, dude,” he said.

“There's still a lot of golf to be played. But ultimately from my perspective I was really excited about the way I played.

"I think you've got to be a lot more strategic out on the golf course.

“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.

“Besides 18, I placed the ball in some good areas. I just need to hit more fairways. Other than that, I feel like my strategy was nice today.”

DeChambeau was handed a fun draw, with reigning Champion Golfer Scottie Scheffler and England’s Tyrrell Hatton completing the three-ball that teed off at 9:58am.

Scheffler missed his first cut in four years at last week’s Scottish Open and he started like a man on a mission, by sinking four birdies in the first six holes.

Local hero Tommy Fleetwood may have been starting just over 10 minutes behind them but many jumped ahead, sensing something special.

Scheffler's round petered out somewhat – he finished on two-under following a neat 68 – while Hatton was one further back.

“It was fun playing with Scottie, seeing how good he strikes the ball,” DeChambeau added.

“I've wanted to play with him for a while now. Seeing how he struck the ball today was beautiful.

“Makes me think, oh, man, I've got to work on my driving and 3-wood a little bit better because I hit it farther than him, but it sometimes doesn't go straight.

“It's a good gauge [to play with the world number one], right? It tells me where my game's at. It also shows me where he's at. It's good to see it in person.

“You always see it on TV, but it's just a little different sometimes when you're right there.

“That's why it's cool for people to be out here and see what Scottie and myself and Tyrrell can do, and everybody out here. It's a great bunch of guys, and it was fun to play today.”

DeChambeau’s Open record is below average for a player of his ability.

He made his debut at this very venue in 2017 and has a best result of tied eighth at The 150th Open at St Andrews.

He has missed the cut three times and has recorded just one other top-10 finish, and that was tied 10th at Royal Portrush last year.

“It's difficult to say what's going to happen,” he said.

“You never know out here. I can say there's a lot of good scores. We're all playing pretty well. I like it when the test is hard and difficult. It definitely makes for a fun Championship.

“If I can keep it going and give the crowd something to cheer for on Sunday, that's all I can ask for.”

Few things are guaranteed in golf but, as far as DeChambeau goes, that certainly is.