Tommy Fleetwood's caddie mocks Bryson DeChambeau's claim he shouts fore '99 per cent of the time'

Bryson DeChambeau's claim that he shouts fore after stray shots "99 per cent of the time" has been ridiculed by Tommy Fleetwood's caddie in the build up to this week's Open Championship.

The big-hitting American has been criticised by commentators and social media users for not shouting when his tee shots are heading towards spectators.

DeChambeau was asked about the subject during a pre-tournament press conference at Royal St George's, where he is one of leading contenders for the last major championship of the year.

“I do shout fore,” DeChambeau insisted. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. There are plenty of people on the tee box that do shout fore. You’re bringing up a very controversial thing, which is unfortunate, but 99 per cent of the time I do, and unfortunately people think I don’t. But that’s OK, they can say whatever they want.”

This led Fleetwood's bag man, Ian Finnis, to post the following on Twitter poking fun at DeChambeau's reputation for scientific accuracy and forensic detail:

DeChambeau, who won last year's US Open at Winged Foot, is one of the sport's most intriguing characters thanks to his unorthodox and idiosyncratic approach to the game.

His theories have led him to use clubs of identical length, dip goals in Epsom salt and calculate the effects of air density, leading to the nickname the 'Mad Scientist'.

DeChambeau is embroiled in a slightly cartoonish rivalry with compatriot Brooks Koepka, with the pair trading a series of childish digs in public, including DeChambeau saying Koepka has 'no abs'. Koepka has also called out DeChambeau for slow play.

In his pre-tournament press conference, Koepka said: “He didn’t like that I had mentioned his name in slow play.

“So he walked up to Ricky [Elliott, Koepka’s caddie] and said, ‘You tell your man if he’s got something to say, say it to me’. I thought that was ironic because he went straight to Ricky. I just walked straight over to him and we had a conversation."

DeChambeau is hoping to improve on a poor Open record. He is yet to crack the top 50 in three attempts, with the strategic demands of links golf not conducive to his power game.