Tour pro relieved Scottie Scheffler didn't win The Open after golf rules controversy

English tour pro Eddie Pepperell has expressed his relief that Scottie Scheffler didn't win The Open after the American was given a controversial free drop during the final round. 

Last Sunday, the world number one remained firmly in the hunt down the stretch at Royal Birkdale to defend the Claret Jug. 

With just two holes remaining, Scheffler trailed clubhouse leader Cameron Young by two strokes. 

But disaster struck at the 17th. 

Scheffler pulled his second shot so far left it ended up in the hospitality suite. 

The 30-year-old never found his golf ball but managed to get a free drop because it was "known or virtually certain" that his ball ended up in the bleachers. 

The rules of golf permitted Scheffler to hit his third in line to the entry point of the TIO.

Scheffler even called off the search for his ball, knowing that if his ball was found it would've potentially given him a tougher shot into the green. 

From there, Scheffler got up-and-down to make an all-time birdie. 

Several golf fans raged in real time, insisting the TIO rule needed to change. 

For his part, Scheffler admitted that it was something he was "not proud of" but was acutely aware of the rule given the same situation happened to him before on the PGA Tour. 

The rules official said it landed just barely left of the grandstand thing. I don't know what you call that, like a sponsor area or something. And Teddy had a beat right on where it was coming down. So when we get up there, it's past the fence that marks the TIO, so he said anything that's in there is part of the TIO. I said, if I find it, does that help me; can I drop it — since that would be about 50 yards closer to the hole. So [I] decided to stop the search and go back and drop it doing point-of-entry TIO relief. Actually I did that once this year during the Byron as well. Not something I'm proud of but I was familiar with. I stopped them. They had guys pointing from up there, like it landed right here, and I just kind of hauled up there, and I was like, guys, get out of there, stop, do not find the ball. - Scottie Scheffler

In the end, Scheffler fell short of defending his title. 

English pro Pepperrell, 35, reflected on the incident in the latest edition of the Chipping Forecast.

Pepperell said a similar thing happened to him in Spain. 

"I remember in Madrid years ago I hit a shot that ended up in a toilet left of a grandstand," he said. 

"I got to drop two yards off the green in a patch of rough, which was totally unfair, and I got up and down and made a three. 

"There should be a separate drop zone for those kinds of wayward shots that is further away in thick rough, and it’s a much much tougher shot.”

"If you ended up against a grandstand, but were in the confines of the green, so the ball is just long or just left or just right, then there are little drop zones. 

"That seems about fair, but when you have a scenario like Scottie did, there needs to be a new way of creating a fairer outcome for the field.

“It was a relief in hindsight that he didn’t win. He wouldn’t have won even if he had finished birdie-birdie. But if things had fallen differently, it would have been a bad, bad look."

Pepperrell said it "wasn't a terrible idea" for the rule to be altered so that players hit again if they enter the TIO. 

He also reiterated his desire for the arm-lock putter to be banned.

Open champion Ryan Fox uses one and admitted he couldn't feel his hands because they were shaking so much before he holed out from 12 feet to win by one. 

"You hear him describe the way he felt on that last putt, where he said he couldn’t feel his hands," Pepperell said. 

"Okay, take the arm lock away, and it gets even harder.

"This is why I don't like the putter not being the shortest club in the bag – it is fixed to a point of the body that can move in a more rigid way under pressure than if it was just in your hands."