Golf star J.J. Spaun was was accused of “unsportsmanlike” play after he used a PGA Tour loophole to set up a playoff against Rory McIlroy at the Players Championship.

The pair will now contest a winner-takes-all playoff round consisting of three holes, as they vie to take the spoils on a fifth day at TPC Sawgrass. Spaun got himself back into contention at on the par-5 ninth on Sunday, despite hitting his second shot into the rough and some 45 yards from the hole.

However, he gained two relief drops after firstly standing on a sprinkler – before his subsequent shot saw him landed the ball on another sprinkler. Eventually chipping the ball onto the fairway, he found himself just a single shot adrift of frontrunner McIlroy after shooting a birdie on the ninth hole – in a dramatic turn of events in the final round at the Floridan course.

Nevertheless, it had appeared that four-time majors winner was on a procession towards clinching the title, having established a three-shot lead at the 12th hole, before Spaun chipped away at his advantage. The world No. 57, who has a single PGA Tour event title to his name to date, lived to fight another day as he looks to earn a first Players Championship title of his career.

Providing commentary of the moment in question on the ninth hole, admitted that he had found the spectacle a “fascinating” watch as Spaun made full use of Rule 16.1. Speaking on NBC, caddie Jim “Bones” Mackay gave his perspective on what he had witnessed.

He said: “J.J. got up there and his ball was in a horrible lie and he was standing on a sprinkler, but he was still nowhere near the fairway, so he took relief and within that club length was another sprinkler, so he intentionally dropped it in the sprinkler and he got another club length from there and got himself into the fairway.”

One fan reflected: “Every PGA guy knows this is what you do why you need to. There’s NO OPTION. He followed the rules. He didn’t break a rule. So What are we talking about?!” as a second fan chimed in saying: “Absolutely ridiculous that you can go from thick rough to fairway. That can’t be the spirit of the rule. If it’s legal he’d be a fool for not doing it but really looks bad.

Meanwhile, a third fan scolded Spaun as they called him out for a perceived lack of gamesmanship, adding: “Just because something is legal and permitted does not make it ethical and sportsmanlike or classy so he proved to be clever, but unclassy, unsportsmanlike and unethical.”