Scottie Scheffler has already picked up some tips about playing links golf from Bob MacIntyre and now Bryson DeChambeau is aiming to do likewise in The 153rd Open. With 2024 runner-up Justin Rose making up a tasty group, MacIntyre and DeChambeau will be out together in the opening two rounds at Royal Portrush on Thursday and Friday. In his pre-event press conference, two-time US Open champion DeChambeau admitted he is still trying to come to terms with the “elements” that come with seaside golf and said he will be taking the opportunity to see 2024 Genesis Scottish Open champion MacIntyre at work. “I definitely plan to. I want to see what he does,” said the American, who made a point of congratulating MacIntyre on the range at Royal Troon 12 months ago after he’d landed the title in his home Open the previous week at The Renaissance Club. “Yeah, it's impressive,” added the LIV Golf player of the Scot having broken into the world’s top 15 over the past year or so. “What he's done to play in the US and compete and contend is very impressive. Being a lefty and he's got his dip of the head, it's really cool to watch him play. “That's why I think the game of golf is so cool because from any walks of life, any place, you can come play if you work hard enough. I think he's shown that he's an elite player, and it will be fun to play with him on Thursday.” As had been the case at last week’s Genesis Scottish Open, world No 1 Scheffler talked again in his press conference here about having “some good chats” with MacIntyre and “learning a little bit from him as well” when they were in the same group on the first two days at The Renaissance Club. MacIntyre reckons he’s enjoying the challenge of links golf “more now than I’ve ever done” due to the fact he isn’t playing it as much as he did as an amateur. Understandably, though, he wasn’t about to give away all his secrets heading into this week. “A lot of guys that I watch that haven't played it as much as I have and make the mistakes and then I'm looking at it going, ‘you cannot do that’,” he said of percentage golf being a requirement. “As for me, you can hit certain shots, but sometimes you're actually walking up there going, ‘that's all right, that's all right, we've got a chance from there’.” In seven previous appearances in this event, DeChambeau has only managed one top-ten finish, which came in the 150th edition at St Andrews in 2022, while he suffered a disappointing missed cut at Royal Troon 12 months ago as the US Open champion. “I think not trying to ride the wind is something that's pretty simple to talk about but sometimes difficult to execute depending on where the hazards are and the bunkers are and trying to get a certain shot to a certain place, just being a little more strategic,” he admitted. “That's what we're looking at doing this week is just try to be as strategic as possible and put the ball in a place where I can give myself good chances for birdie but also not give myself too many difficult places to play from is the goal. “If you're going to try to ride the wind one time, how do I control and make sure it doesn't go into a crazy place? Because, once the ball goes into that wind, it's sayonara. That thing can go forever offline. But just having fun out here is what I'm trying to accomplish this week and being pretty strategic.”