Bryson DeChambeau In Danger Of Missing Back-To-Back Major Cuts For First Time Since 2017 After Horror First Round At PGA Championship

Bryson DeChambeau at the PGA Championship — Bryson DeChambeau carded a six-over 76 in the first round at Aronimink Golf Club

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Bryson DeChambeau is having a brilliant season with LIV Golf, including two wins on the circuit so far in 2026.

However, that form didn't translate to The Masters, while he also struggled in the opening round of the PGA Championship.

At Augusta National last month, DeChambeau was left frustrated by a disastrous triple bogey at the 18th hole of his second round to miss the cut.

Any hopes he had of putting that disappointment behind him at the PGA Championship already appear to be in serious doubt following a six-over 76 in the opening round at Aronimink Golf Club, his worst score to par in the tournament.

That left the two-time US Open champion languishing near the foot of the 156-player leaderboard, even trailing several club pros.

Bryson DeChambeau reacts to a putt — A triple bogey at the 18th saw Bryson DeChambeau miss the cut at The Masters

Beginning at the 10th tee, DeChambeau endured a poor front nine by his standards, making the turn at four-over.

While things settled down for him with a run of six consecutive pars, it was a bogey on his 16th of the day that ended the run, rather than his first birdie.

It got even worse for DeChambeau on his penultimate hole with a double bogey, leaving him on seven over, before he completed his round with a birdie to give him something to hold on to ahead of Friday.

DeChambeau has plenty of work to do to make the weekend, though, and is in danger of missing back-to-back cuts at Majors for the first time since 2017, when he failed to make the weekend at both the US Open and The Open.

DeChambeau’s struggles on Thursday also continue a recent trend of poor opening rounds at Majors.

At the 2025 US Open, while defending his title, DeChambeau was three over after the first round, while he was seven over following a first-round 78 at The Open. DeChambeau was also four over after the first round of the 2026 Masters.

That means that, in his last four opening rounds at the big events, DeChambeau has a combined 20-over-par.

If there is one glimmer of hope for DeChambeau as he prepares for his second round, it is that despite his calamitous start at The Open last July, he recovered brilliantly over the remaining three rounds to finish tied for 10th.

He'll be desperate to find a similar response to avoid heading away from his second Major of 2026 two days earlier than he had hoped.

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Mike has over 25 years of experience in journalism, including writing on a range of sports throughout that time, such as golf, football and cricket. Now a freelance staff writer for Golf Monthly, he is dedicated to covering the game's most newsworthy stories.

He has written hundreds of articles on the game, from features offering insights into how members of the public can play some of the world's most revered courses, to breaking news stories affecting everything from the PGA Tour and LIV Golf to developmental Tours and the amateur game.

Mike grew up in East Yorkshire and began his career in journalism in 1997. He then moved to London in 2003 as his career flourished, and nowadays resides in New Brunswick, Canada, where he and his wife raise their young family less than a mile from his local course.

Kevin Cook’s acclaimed 2007 biography, Tommy’s Honour, about golf’s founding father and son, remains one of his all-time favourite sports books.