Scottie Scheffler Birdies 17th Hole with Unusual Ruling at The Open

Scottie Scheffler received a unique ruling on the 17th hole at Royal Birkdale, which kept him in contention at The Open Championship on Sunday. The rule allowed him to take a free drop after a shot that sailed approximately 30 yards left of his target and landed in a gated hospitality zone.

What happened?

The rule, known as Model Local Rule F-23, enables Scheffler to take a free drop without having to find his ball. Since that area of the course is known as a "Temporary Immovable Obstruction" (TIO under the rules of golf), Scheffler utilized a rare subsection of the rule that does not require him to find his golf ball.

Why it matters for Scottie Scheffler

Scheffler got himself into the predicament first by hitting a drive into the left rough on the 17th hole: a shot that elicited visible frustration on the tee. Then, faced with a blind shot from an uphill lie at the bottom of one of Royal Birkdale's dunes, Scheffler surprisingly took out a 3-wood. He missed wide left, and the uncertainty about where the ball landed caused Scheffler to hit a provisional ball, which he ultimately did not need to use because of the TIO ruling.

What comes next?

In an initial search for his first approach shot, Scheffler realized he did not need to find the ball, and yelled out to NBC's on-course commentator John Wood to stop looking for it. Wood told The Athletic that the ball was found in the TIO area, eventually. "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," Scheffler said.

A referee with Scheffler's group guided him through the free relief, showing him where he was legally allowed to drop. According to the rule, a player may take a drop at their nearest point of relief from the area, no closer to the hole, where both "physical and line of sight interference no longer exist." He was allowed two club lengths from that point. He hit his third shot to 11 feet and made the birdie putt.

While Scheffler clearly did not intend to hit his ball into the area, TIO relief has come under criticism in recent years as golfers have been accused of using it to their advantage. With grandstands and hospitality areas surrounding so many greens at professional tournaments, "backboarding" has become a thing: intentionally hitting the ball beyond the green and to the grandstands to gain an advantage.

Scheffler subsequently bogeyed the 18th, finishing The Open at 7 under par. The defending Open champion got to 8-under, needing a birdie on the final hole to tie clubhouse leader Cameron Young.

According to the R&A rules book, if a player's ball is "known or virtually certain" to have come to rest in a TIO area, the player may take relief "using the estimated point where the ball last crossed the edge of the TIO." Scheffler got himself into the predicament first by hitting a drive into the left rough on the 17th hole: a shot that elicited visible frustration on the tee.

The outcome

Scheffler's birdie on the 17th hole put him just one back, but he ultimately finished The Open at 7 under par. The defending Open champion got to 8-under, needing a birdie on the final hole to tie clubhouse leader Cameron Young.

Scheffler gets another chance to compete at the top level, but the unusual ruling on the 17th hole has raised questions about the use of TIO relief in golf. With grandstands and hospitality areas surrounding so many greens at professional tournaments, "backboarding" has become a thing: intentionally hitting the ball beyond the green and to the grandstands to gain an advantage.

The 2026 Open Championship took place on July 19, 2026, at Royal Birkdale in Southport, England.

category: match_report