A contentious ruling involving world No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler at the British Open has ignited a firestorm of criticism from fans and fellow professionals, adding to a tournament already marked by rule disputes.

The incident occurred on the 17th hole when Scheffler's tee shot veered sharply left, landing behind a grandstand. He then hit a provisional ball, which also went astray to the left. Neither the original shot nor the provisional could be located.

Despite the ball being significantly off the intended line of play, Scheffler was granted relief due to a Temporary Immovable Obstruction (TIO). This allowed him to take a free drop, from which he hit his subsequent shot within 10 feet of the hole, ultimately making a birdie. At that point, he was one shot behind leader Cameron Young.

Scheffler, who went on to finish in fourth place, three strokes behind winner Ryan Fox, explained the situation to NBC's Cara Banks. "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."

However, Scheffler was unable to capitalize further, bogeying the final hole. The ruling, though, left many, including competitors, bewildered.

Professional golfer Michael Kim voiced his astonishment on X, formerly Twitter, stating, "Wow even I’m dumbfounded by that TIO relief from Scottie." He later posted a video of Scheffler expressing frustration on the 17th hole, captioning it, "my reaction to his TIO relief on that hole if I’m in contention."

The "virtual certainty" rule allows players relief, even if a ball is unlocated, when it is known or virtually certain to have entered a TIO. Critics, however, argued that the application of the rule in this instance was questionable.

"Maybe that Scheffler drop is 'legal,' but that’s nasty, nasty work and completely against the spirit of the game," one fan commented on X.

The controversy surrounding Scheffler's drop was amplified by a prior ruling that penalized Bryson DeChambeau two strokes on Friday. DeChambeau was penalized for inadvertently improving the area of his intended swing by stepping on high grass that could have obstructed his path. This penalty dropped him from 7-under to 5-under par, prompting an upset DeChambeau to reportedly threaten not to play the following day.