SANDWICH, United Kingdom: Bryson DeChambeau backtracked on his claim that his driver at the British Open "sucks", admitting his frustration was "very unprofessional."
The big-hitting American endured a rollercoaster one-over-par round of 71 on the first day at Royal St. George's.
DeChambeau, who has transformed his physique by adding 20 pounds to extend the length of his drives, hit just four out of 14 fairways and sat seven shots off the lead held by Louis Oosthuizen of South Africa.
"If I can hit it down the middle of the fairway, that's great, but with the driver right now, the driver sucks," said the world number six.
Later Thursday, he rowed backed on his criticism.
"The comment I made was very unprofessional," DeChambeau wrote on Instagram.
"My frustration and emotions over the way I drove the ball today boiled over. I sucked today, not my equipment."
"I deeply regret the words I used."
After making the turn at two over, three consecutive birdies at 12, 13 and 14 gave DeChambeau some momentum.
But more wayward shots off the tee cost him at the 15th and 17th.
"It's a golf course that's pretty short and so when I hit driver and it doesn't go in the fairway, it's first cut or it's in the hay, it's tough for me to get it out on to the green," he added just after his round.
"Once in the middle of the fairway, like I had it on 18, I was able to hit a nice shot to 11 feet and almost made birdie. It's kind of living on the razor's edge."--AFP