Fans went crazy over Scottie Scheffler’s free drop during the British Open in a tournament filled with controversial rulings.
Scheffler’s chance at winning appeared to be over on the 17th hole after he pulled a 3-wood shot so far left that it landed behind the grandstand then hit a provisional that also ended left.
The World No. 1 golfer and officials never found the first shot, though, and he was granted relief due to a Temporary Immovable Obstruction despite being 100 yards off line.
Scheffler hit his relief shot within 10 feet of the hole and finished with a birdie and one shot off the leader at the time Cameron Young. Scheffler ultimately finished in fourth, three strokes behind winner Ryan Fox.
“I need to make something happen there in the last couple holes, you know, tried to do something and the left side there is the safe side and the ball skipped off the grass in front of me and it flew over the the grandstand there, but fortunately it was in the TIO so I was able to get relief,” Scheffler told NBC’s Cara Banks.
Scheffler was unable to take advantage of the favorable ruling, however, bogeying the final hole.
Despite the end result, competitors and fans alike were left confused by the ruling that kept Scheffler in the running.
“Wow even I’m dumbfounded by that TIO relief from Scottie,” Michael Kim, a professional golfer, said on X.
Kim posted again shortly after with a video of Scheffler raising his voice in anger on the 17th hole captioning it “my reaction to his TIO relief on that hole if I’m in contention.”
Scheffler was allowed the free drop because of the “virtual certainty” rule which gives players relief, even if the ball isn’t found, if a ball is known or virtually certain to have gone into a TIO.
“Maybe that Scheffler drop is “legal,” but that’s nasty, nasty work and completely against the spirit of the game,” one fan said on X.
The reaction to the ruling was only heightened by the fact it came after Bryson DeChambeau was controversially assessed a two-shot penalty on Friday, taking him from 7-under to 5-under
DeChambeau had walked behind his ball, stepping on high grass that would have otherwise been in his swing path, which the R&A found “inadvertently [improved] the area of his intended swing.”
The American, upset by the ruling, threatened not to play the following day.
