Scottie Scheffler hit a very creditable 13 of 14 fairways but finished one shot behind playing partner DeChambeau, who hit four of 15.
“If I continue to do what I did today with the ball-striking, I’ll be in a good spot as the week goes on,” Scheffler said.
You bet he will.
In conditions such as these, experience is often key but Jackson Suber played his first round of links golf on Monday and holds the overnight lead, doing away with the notion that know-how counts most.
Stewart Cink, who made his Open debut at Royal Birkdale in 1998, said: “This is my fourth time playing at Birkdale, and the first three times it was very similar each time. It was kind of lush and green and extremely windy.
“This is not the Royal Birkdale I’ve ever seen before. Lush would be the opposite of the way to describe this place right now, and obviously very calm.
“The wind was not there and then when it picked up it shifted about 90 degrees or more today. It’s a different Royal Birkdale. It’s way different.
“But that’s kind of what you expect over here. The golf courses, they go how the weather goes.
“They’re either fast and firm and dry and fiery and dusty. They’re never really soft, but they can be lush and green and a little slower, and this week we’ve got it very dry, and it’s a lot of fun.”
The morning starters appeared to have the better of it, with overnight dew making the fairways and greens more receptive.
But it was still far from easy.
“I think links golf is the ultimate test of golf,” said Robert MacIntyre after a highly-encouraging 67 that leaves him tied fourth.
