Sahith Theegala has broken his silence after self-reporting a two-stroke penalty at this weekend’s PGA Tour Championship.
It’s one of the highest-stakes events on the golf schedule, with a total prize pot of £76,158,560 ($100,000,000) on offer to the sport’s biggest and best names.
For the golfer that rises to the top and wins the season-ending tournament, they will pocket an astonishing £21,048,750 ($25,000,000) in one fell swoop alone.
It’s the tournament where no player can afford - quite literally - any mistakes or slip-ups.
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That is why heads were being scratched when Theegala showed the ultimate mark of sportsmanship on the East Lake course and self-reported a mistake.
The US-born golfer had posted an impressive 67 and 66 in the opening two and was in contention for a strong finish heading into his third round.
However, having found himself stuck in the bunker on the third hole, Theegala looked to have performed an incredible recovery shot to resurrect the hole, only for the 26-year-old to reveal he had moved a couple of grains of sand prior to the stroke.
The incident was reviewed, but without any conclusive TV footage, Theegala was handed a two-stroke penalty, leaving him with a disappointing double bogey score for the hole.
Sahith Theegala self-reported a two-stroke penalty for touching the sand with his club during his backswing.
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 31, 2024
He currently moves from -13 to -11, but will have the opportunity to review the penalty with a rules official following his round. pic.twitter.com/rLAgGJGZ5c
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A bitter blow for Theegala, who speaking after the day’s play said: “I had a very unique lie on three.
“My pitch mark hit in the face of the bunker, my ball rolled up and then it rolled back right on top of the pitch mark. So it was a lie that we never usually have or practice.
“I pick up my club normally on iron shots, on that one I went through the same process, I didn’t feel it, but I saw something right as I took it back. I saw some sand move."
He continued: “I was pretty sure of it. I was 90 per cent sure I saw some sand move and I notified Xander Schauffele right away because I thought I should probably tell him.
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“Me and Xander thought because there was no intent and if anything I brushed a few grains of sand, it would be no problem, no penalty.
“But they knew the rule right away that it was a two-shot penalty because it was changing the lie in the play of the ball. And that happened to be the direct play of the backswing…
“I really think I moved the sand, it’s just a bummer there’s no clear footage. If someone asked me ‘Did you move the sand?’ I’d have said yes.”
Fortunately, it didn’t impact Theegala too much, given he starts round four on Sunday in third spot, in the mix for a hefty end-of-season payday.
