Matt Fitzpatrick and Scottie Scheffler were left angered by rules officials after a controversial call in the BMW Championship. During the final round at Castle Pines Golf Club, Fitzpatrick asked if he could replace his Titleist driver with the club visibly cracked.

However, the Englishman was denied his request after being told the damage was insufficient. Under the USGA’s Model Local Rule G-9, a club is not replaceable purely because of a crack.

The decision prompted an angry response from both Fitzpatrick and his American playing partner.

“It’s an absolute disgrace,” ranted Fitzpatrick as he walked down the 8th fairway. “Are you telling me I now have to use a 3-wood for the rest of the round.”

After making bogey on the par-5 hole, Fitzpatrick told a rules official he would “make sure something is done after the round because it’s a joke.” And after a poor drive on the 9th tee, he unscrewed the driver head and went on to play with just 13 clubs for the remainder.

But not before another flare-up with the official, with Fitzpatrick saying: “It’s caved in. There’s an obvious crack there that’s causing a defect of ball flight.

“This is outrageous, it’s an absolute disgrace. I’ve literally just watched a ball do a completely different thing from the whole morning. It couldn’t be more obvious.”

After being reminded of the regulations, the 2022 US Open hit back with: “I understand the rules. But that’s your opinion of that. The fact is there is literally a crack in the driver that is causing the ball to fly funny. That’s a fact.”

Scheffler also got involved, arguing “You can feel the crack. The damage to the club is making the club not perform. It’s been damaged throughout the course of play. That’s the first shot offline he’s hit all day and it carried about 80 yards shorter.”

Fitzpatrick admirably still managed to shoot 70 in his final round, but that only took to -1 overall. That left him tied for 29th, missing out on progressing in the FedEX Cup.

Scheffler meanwhile, was out of sorts in his final round of 72. He retired to the clubhouse having finished on +1, only good enough for joint 33rd.