Trevor Immelman has admitted that he was not entirely comfortable with Scottie Scheffler receiving a free drop on the 17th hole on Sunday at The Open Championship, as he suggested whether he felt that the world number one did anything wrong.
Scheffler so nearly produced an incredible comeback during the final round at Royal Birkdale to give himself a chance of lifting the Claret Jug for a second time.
Advertisement
The 30-year-old reached the 18th tee on Sunday having made six birdies. Of course, there was some controversy surrounding what would prove to be his final birdie of the championship.
Trevor Immelman reacts to the drop Scottie Scheffler got on Sunday at The Open Championship
Scheffler went so far left with his second shot into the par five 17th that he decided to hit a provisional ball.
It was deemed that the American’s second shot had almost certainly ended up in a hospitality area. With that, he was able to call off the search for the ball and take a free drop in a good spot.
That helped set up the birdie that kept his hopes of winning a fifth major alive. Scheffler would, however, make a bogey on the last and would finish in a tie for fourth.
Advertisement
There is clearly a problem. Players in Scheffler’s shoes are able to take on the more aggressive shot, knowing that if it goes really wrong, they may still be able to take their third shot from a much better position.
But speaking on Fried Egg Golf, Trevor Immelman suggested that the rule needs to be looked at, rather than anything Scheffler did during that incident.
“It felt awkward. Such a difficult shot first of all. He’s got a severe up-sloping lie. He knows he’s got to push it to make something happen. He decides to go for it,” he said.
“I saw that he said afterwards that in a normal situation where he didn’t have to push, he would never have hit the wood and gone for the green from that lie. He’s got the huge dune in front of him. And it went way to the left. I think he said it clipped something on top of the hill and kind of deflected it to the left.
Advertisement
“It was pretty confusing, I would say, for fans watching to try and understand what was going on. You saw people looking for the ball left of the hospitality. And then they stopped looking. He hit a provisional before he got down there. And the next thing he’s taking a drop and he’s hitting, and the graphic says it’s his third shot and everyone’s like, what’s going on here?
Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images
“But I guess, I mean, the rule is pretty clear cut regarding TIOs, temporary immoveable obstructions, and those are all outlined and the ball was deemed to have gone in there and it was a pretty good break.
“Did it feel awkward? Absolutely. Did he do anything wrong? No.
Advertisement
“And in that case, he had the walking rules official right there with him talking him through the whole situation and letting him know what his options were. But yeah, it did feel a bit funny. And it’ll be interesting to see if the USGA and the R&A look at this moving forward, with their big championships, obviously that affects the PGA Tour, the DP World Tour and all other tours around the world because they operate by the R&A rules and the USGA rules.
“It’s just a tough one because you’ve got these massive tournaments and championships with huge buildouts for the fans to encourage people to come out and watch and support and sponsor hospitality and all that. And you try and get it as close to the action as you can so people can really feel a part of it and enjoy the experience and this is just part of it. It’s one of the things that you have to deal with.”
What Trevor Immelman made of Scottie Scheffler’s putting woes at Royal Birkdale
It is a shame that the incident has the potential to overshadow what was another strong showing from Scheffler in the majors.
Advertisement
The Open Championship saw Scheffler finish in the top five of a major for a third time this season.
It did, however, seem to sum up Scheffler’s year. He lacked that final gear that helped make him so dominant before 2026.
Interestingly, Immelman believes that Scheffler can take a lot of positives from how he hit the ball at Birkdale.
“It’s remarkable, the consistency that this guy has, doesn’t matter the conditions, doesn’t matter the style of course. It can be firm, it can be soft, it can be low scoring, it can be a really stern test. I mean, he just finds a way to have a chance to win,” he said.
Advertisement
“I thought it was some of the best ball-striking I’ve seen from him in a number of months. I actually thought that he got his swing into a nice zone and slot and was really hitting a lot of beautiful shots.”
It was almost infuriating watching both Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler on the greens in Southport. They both missed so many good opportunities across the week.
Scheffler’s struggles to hole anything were particularly frustrating when you consider how close he finished to Ryan Fox.
It has been some time since Scheffler has looked so wasteful on the greens. However, Immelman suggested that he saw nothing to worry him about his putting.
Advertisement
“It’s been a funny one. I don’t see anything necessarily wrong with the stroke or the technique or where he’s striking the putt on the face,” he said.
“He’s been hitting a lot of putts that with two or three feet to go, it’s got a good chance. And it just burns by the edge or maybe it’s a hair firm or it comes up one roll short, but they all look like they’ve got a shot to go in with a few feet to go.
“So kind of weird that he’s in this stretch where it’s just not quite happening for him on the greens. But I don’t see anything glaring from a technical aspect. It just seems to be one of those runs that are tough to explain in golf, where the ball’s just not dropping right now.”
The 2027 season is going to be fascinating when it comes to Scheffler. It is hard to imagine that he will be able to play so well and win so rarely, as he has done this season.
But he must be extremely confused about his inability to get across the line since winning The American Express at the start of the year.
Read the full article here