Scottie Scheffler makes feelings crystal clear on Bryson DeChambeau's two-shot penalty

World number one Scottie Scheffler has broken his silence on Bryson DeChambeau's controversial two-shot penalty at The Open. 

The LIV Golf recruit caused an almighty stir on day two of the final men's major of the year at Royal Birkdale after he was deemed to have "improved the intended area of his swing" before playing his second shot on the fifth hole. 

Tournament organisers believed DeChambeau, 32, had trampled down the long grass next to his ball. 

It led to extraordinary scenes whereby the two-time U.S. Open champion reportedly threatened to withdraw from the 154th edition of the major. 

DeChambeau ultimately did decide to carry on and finished in a share of 14th place. 

Watch Scheffler's reaction here: 

But whether or not DeChambeau was deserving of the penalty has been a fierce topic of debate amongst players in the field and the world of golf. 

Rory McIlroy made it clear he felt DeChambeau did improve his intended swing path. 

Scheffler told reporters last night he had "a lot" to say about the subject but wanted to wait until after the conclusion of the tournament before opening up. 

"All I can really say is I think maybe we need to be a little bit more strict in the way that we are policing guys, but it's a little bit of a balance because you've got certain guys like a Bryson who every shot he hits is going to be shown on TV," said Scheffler after posting a final-round 67 to finish three shots behind champion Ryan Fox.

"When you have camera angles that are far away, things can look different than they do when you're right there.

"I hate saying stuff out here because I don't want anything to get taken out of context. 

"All I'll say is Bryson, I've known him for a long time, and he's a lot of things, but he's definitely not a cheater. I've never seen him cheat once, whether we were having a putting contest on the putting green or chipping contest, or anytime we played amateur golf, I never saw anything suspicious."

There were multiple camera angles of the incident involving DeChambeau. 

Some figures, such as the chief executive of the R&A, insisted the decision to dish out a penalty was clear cut. 

Scheffler said DeChambau was perhaps "a touch careless" around his ball. 

"But I don't think he did anything intentionally," said Scheffler. 

"We've seen penalties happen with ... like you remember Jon Rahm a couple years ago at the Memorial when his ball moved in the rough, and it's like to the naked eye, can you really tell that?

"I think sometimes it's just a difficult position in the game of golf."

Scheffler said perhaps it's time to be stricter with the rules. 

"I feel like at times, sometimes you see players maybe push it a little bit further than they should," he said. 

"I think we need to kind of get back to the traditions of the game and maybe we do need to police things a little bit more stricter in the game.

"But like I said, it's a tough line to kind of cross. So that's why it's hard for me to say anything like this. 

"Bryson is a guy that I've known for a really long time. Like I said, he's not a cheater."