Will Bryson DeChambeau finally figure out The Open riddle amid his best major championship season?

"Steady Improvement" could be the title of Bryson DeChambeau's autobiography one day. Leaving no stone unturned, squeezing the most out of his game and transforming his body and mind to become the best golfer possible, DeChambeau's rise has been as steady as it has been stark.

That same phrase could easily be used to describe his 2024 major championship season. Entering the 2024 Open Championship as the most recent major winner and best major performer of the year -- relative to par and strokes gained -- the 30-year-old seeks to accomplish what only a handful before him have been in position to secure: top 10 finishes at all four majors with at least one doubling for a victory.

"[I'm] very confident, obviously," DeChambeau said. "It all depends if I'm striking it well. I can come in here with the most confidence, obviously, off of a major championship win. Played decent last week as well. Really what matters is if I can continue to drive the ball as well as I have and ball strike my irons the way I know I can and putt the way I know I can. If I do those three things well, even four things with chipping and bunker play and on the greens, I'll give myself a chance.

"I know how to get the job done. It's just a matter of if I'm as consistent as I was at the U.S. Open last week and a few other venues as well. If I can play the golf that I have been, I think I'll give myself a great chance."

Top 10s in all four majors with a victory

DeChambeau's major season began in spectacular fashion as he opened the Masters leading after 18 holes. Keeping his name atop the leaderboard heading into the weekend, the big-hitting right hander was ultimately undone by the speed and slickness of the putting surfaces at Augusta National. The result was a T6, his best-ever finish at the year's first major.

A much better course fit arrived the following month at the PGA Championship in Louisville. Valhalla featured thick rough, wide landing areas and was ripe for the picking; DeChambeau bludgeoned the Jack Nicklaus design into submission with a heavy dose of drivers and long irons. Despite a clutch birdie on the 72nd hole to post the clubhouse lead at 20 under, DeChambeau's total was one stroke too many after Xander Schauffele clinched the championship with a birdie of his own a mere minutes later. The result was a solo second.

This improvement trickled into last month's U.S. Open -- a championship DeChambeau had already claimed in 2020. With questions around how Pinehurst No. 2 would gel with his game, DeChambeau answered the bell in dramatic fashion. Even when the championship looked to be lost due to an early back-nine charge from Rory McIlroy, DeChambeau held firm. After a championship-defining up-and-down on the 72nd hole, DeChambeau held his second U.S. Open trophy (and soon after, so did everyone else).

That brings us to present day and the test that is this edition of The Open at Royal Troon. It has been an event DeChambeau has yet to ace with only one top-10 finish in six attempts. It's been the site of some his career lows like the infamous driving range session at Carnoustie in 2018 where he appeared to lose his mind -- and when he called out his club manufacturer, Cobra, in 2021 because his driver sucked (his words, not mine).

"[Links golf] can be a difficult challenge," DeChambeau said. "I wouldn't say it's a problem. It's a challenge. That's what's so great about links golf and The Open Championship, and what it provides is a different test to try and figure out and get an "A" on, I guess you could say. ... It's always been a difficult test for me because I wasn't great at putting early on in my career. I've gotten a little bit better. My wedge game has gotten better. I've learned to flight the ball a little bit.

"So, slowly, it's getting there. Just a couple more reps. Shoot, if I play well this week, I think I can give myself a good chance, obviously. That's all I'm focused on. I just think over the course of time I'm going to get more and more comfortable with this golf course."

DeChambeau is a decidedly different man and golfer from just three years ago, which provides hope that the outcome of this Open could be different for him, too. Remember, it wasn't his driver or jaw-dropping length that carried him to victory in the final round of the U.S. Open but rather his wedge play and putting, which steadily improved throughout the championship.

It's that part of his game which will have to do the same this week if DeChambeau is to finish inside the top 10 -- or hell, even win -- as one big question looms in regards to the American ahead of the 152nd Open: How will he attack Royal Troon?

"I don't think it's possible to overpower [the course]," DeChambeau said. "There's too many hazards around the fairways, even in the bunkers. You've got to be very strategic out here. Look, I've played well on strategic golf courses in the past, whether it be RBC Heritage, I've played well there in the past. Valderrama, I played pretty well. I had two top 10s there, finished 2nd last year and 9th this year. Those are pretty strategic golf courses and very placement-oriented golf courses.

"So, I think I'm pretty solid at it, but overpowering this golf course, I don't know if it's possible."

That certainly remains to be seen, but regardless, DeChambeau's patience and game plan will be tested this week. With bad bounces, rainy conditions and the vagaries of links golf with which he will be contending, the golfer formerly known as the Mad Scientist will need to lean into his improved outlook on life and improved perspective on the game if he is to improve his Open résumé.