Just 22.3 seconds after Sam Burns picked his ball out of the hole on the 18th at Royal Birkdale, Ryan Fox rolled in his own birdie putt to win the Open Championship.

Fox had to hole the 3.5m putt to seal his first major title - arguably the biggest putt of his life, not just his career.

However, the unflappable New Zealander proved to be exactly the no-fuss, no-drama winner The Open needed after a tournament which put the way modern golf is played firmly in the spotlight.

Two full days after Bryson DeChambeau was hit with a two-stroke penalty - for inadvertently improving his lie on the 5th hole in round two - players were still being asked about it.

The rules officials at Royal Birkdale had a busy week.

Even on the final day, two of them, including the chief referee, were needed to talk world No.1 Scottie Scheffler through what looked like a lost ball on the 17th.

Scheffler was calmer in his dealings with officials than DeChambeau, who earned a rebuke from Rory McIlroy for holding the tournament "hostage" while he weighed up whether he'd even keep playing, which delayed third round tee times being confirmed.

DeChambeau did play on, but failed to explain his actions, defend himself against McIlroy, or evaluate his overall finish of a tie 14th because he didn’t speak to media all week.

Scheffler's own situation played out in his favour after plenty of arm-waving. He was eventually given a free drop for a lost ball that no one really saw land after a horrible three-wood from the bottom of a small hill. Most agreed it was somewhere behind a grandstand next to the 17th green; a temporary, movable obstruction.

Scottie Scheffler had his own run in with rules officials. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)

Minutes after the animated discussion, he made a stunning birdie and was profuse in his thanks to the same official.

The rules team had their hands full at Birkdale, largely because so many shots were so bad.

On a course Sir Nick Faldo said demanded strategy - "threading" the ball down tight fairways that fed balls forward like runways - plenty of players opted for brute force instead.

Jon Rahm hit his opening tee shot out of bounds in both the third and fourth rounds, choosing power over precision, and errant driving was in abundance on the final day; Australian Lucas Herbert costing himself his chance at victory as he found fescue, and worse, not fairways, at crucial times.

Moments like that kept officials scurrying, but with DeChambeau in particular, little attention went to the mistake that put him in a precarious spot in the first place. Instead, the debate centered on his behaviour and whether the penalty fit. It lingered all weekend.

After his own final-day dramas, Scheffler - who'd held his tongue earlier - was at pains to stress that DeChambeau was "not a cheater." However, the defending champion also conceded that the pull of success, stardom and prize money and the pursuit of wins might be pushing players further than it should.

"I feel like at times, sometimes you see players maybe push it a little bit further than they should," he said. "I think we need to kind of get back to the traditions of the game, and maybe we do need to police things a little bit stricter. I think that opens up a greater discussion - all I can really say is maybe we need to be a little more strict in the way we're policing guys."

Adam Scott, recognised before The Open with the inaugural R&A Spirit of Golf Award for exemplifying the game's traditions on a global scale, was more circumspect on DeChambeau specifically, but said there was a lesson in it for everyone.

"I think you have to be very careful in those kinds of situations, and I think that's what we all learned from this," he said, though he doesn't believe on-course behaviour is spiralling.

"No, I don't think so. But when you get into unusual circumstances, I think it's a reminder - that's how I look at it - that you must be careful."

It's eight months until the next major, the Masters, where petulance is frowned upon and even running is banned.

Eight months for players to take on board the lessons of Royal Birkdale - and of Fox, who collected the Claret Jug without a hint of attention-seeking; the sort of composure plenty of his peers could stand to learn from.