Rules penalty that could cost Sahith Theegala millions? Here is his side

Sahith Theegala says he was “98, 99 percent sure” he had broken the rules.

And he was 100 percent sure what would have happened if he kept quiet about it.

“Oh, I won’t be able to sleep,” said Theegala.

His briefing with reporters the Saturday after Tournament Championship third round covered a wild series of events for the 26-year-old pro, who apparently earned countless nods of respect for his honesty and perhaps a few grimaces for the dollars it might cost him. The moment in question came on East Lake Golf Club’s par-4 third hole, after Theegala dropped his tee shot into a fairway bunker.

There, Theegala said, his ball hit the sand, rolled to the edge of the bunker, then bounced back down, before landing in its original spot. “So it was a very unusual lie,” he said. “It was saturated in sand. It really was a beautiful lie.” From there, from 145 yards from the hole, Theegala hit his second shot 39 feet. But something was wrong with him.

He said he had been trying to hit a cut, and his swing to do so required him to “sweep it down” – where he believed it connected with some sand, a no-no under Rule 8.1a (4). . That rule reads as follows: A player must not perform any of these actions if they improve conditions affecting the stroke: 4. Remove or compact sand or loose soil. Astute observers can remember Patrick Reed He committed to this at the 2019 World Hero Challenge, where, while preparing for a shot from a garbage bunker, Reed took his club off the ball during multiple practice swings and moved the sand behind the ball twice.

On Saturday, shortly after the hit, Theegala said he had a conversation with his playing partner, Xander Schauffele.

“I was like, hey, dude, I think I moved a little bit of sand when I hit that shot,” Theegala said, “and we thought it was no big deal because there was no point, we didn’t feel like — like” It doesn’t actually change the lie at all.

“But unfortunately the rule is that it doesn’t matter the goal. If you change your lie in the direct area around the ball that might affect your swing, it’s a two-stroke penalty.”

Apparently, that’s what he heard the rules official calling while the players were on the field. But Theegala also wondered: Is he really see the sand move? Was he right when he accepted the penalty? Maybe he had seen something else. Perhaps the NBC broadcast will shed some light — but he told reporters that the camera angle that was provided “was way off the ball and kind of zoomed in. It was really hard to see.”

In the end, though, he said he almost certainly moved the sand and almost certainly made his decision.

“At the end of the day, I’ve played so much golf. You just trust your intuition and your soul and immediately I thought I moved some sand there,” said Theegala. “I’m in the 90 percent that I thought I moved some sand. I would sleep a lot better if I could see a clear image of me moving the sand.

“I really think I moved the sand. It’s just an unfortunate rule. But what are you going to do? Take two shots to the chin and just roll with it. But yeah, it was just unfortunate. But I did – pretty sure I broke the rules, so I’m paying the price for it and I feel good about it. Like I said, I’m not 100 percent sure. But I would say I’m 98, 99 percent sure that some sand has moved.

I just played so much golf. You spend so much of your life looking at the lie you have, the ball you have, and it just doesn’t feel like a normal bunker shot. It felt like a piece of sand was moving. At the end of the day, I’m fine with the decision and I think it’s very fair that I’ve been awarded two strokes.”

Did Theegala have any idea how much sand she might have touched?

The grain, he said.

“If you think about it, if you hit something in your backswing and you feel something, you’re going to stop and reset,” Theegala said. “Imagine being in — having a heavy lie and just snapping a patch of grass, like that’s stopping your club a little bit. The amount of sand that was behind this ball, if I hit a significant amount, if I would have stopped and thought it wasn’t a penalty and I wouldn’t have been penalized. Same thing except my ball is still there.

“So it was a very small amount of sand. I can say it with full honesty and clarity. It was not a very large amount of sand. I don’t think it improved the lie at all. I don’t have to say that. Some of the sand moved; maybe it improved it. But it was about to turn. … It’s very hard to tell because of the shadows and my club. You couldn’t see any sand rising up. So little sand we’re talking about. I think it literally just went down hill for that much.”

Notably, after the two-stroke penalty was assessed – and after a self-described outburst featuring a thrown water bottle – Theegala rallied. He birdied the next hole with a 12-foot putt, then shot a back 9 30 that included seven big birdies. On Sunday, he will start the final round in third place, nine behind the leader Scottie Scheffler.

Here, however, you can start doing some math. The Tour Championship, the PGA Tour’s season-ending event, pays serious money. The first paid 25 million dollars. The second paid $12.5 million. Third gets $7.5 million. Fourth $6 million. Fifth $5 million. Sixth $3.5 million. Thrown shots are expensive. As well as penalties.

It doesn’t matter, Theegala said.

On Saturday night, a reporter asked him if he would have slept badly if he hadn’t taken the penalty – prompting his reply that he never would.

“I was describing the situation – regardless of what the score was, I needed to know what the actual rule was,” Theegala said. “Though Xander and I thought it’s whatever, it’s fine, you touched a grain of sand, you didn’t want to move it, you’re fine. I decided to call the official rules right away on the green. But anyway, I would have asked the rules officials after the round, or somehow found out what the rule was, and if I didn’t ask a rules official and go home and look up the rule – he was sitting in my mind.

“Again, intuition, it felt like I moved the sand. It was on my mind. If I went back after the round, looked it up and found out it was a two stroke penalty, I’d be DQ’d right now. So I’m glad I brought it up right away. I know the rules of golf a little better now. There are a lot of silly things you can do in the bunker. You can put a club in the bunker, you can literally stand – you can use your golf club as a stand in the bunker. As long as it’s not near your ball.

“There are many things you can do. But unfortunately, if it’s in the area that affects the lie and swing of your shot, regardless of intent, it’s a two-stroke penalty.”

Nick Piastowski

Editor of Golf.com

Nick Piastowski is a senior editor at Golf.com and Golf Magazine. In his role, he is responsible for editing, writing and developing stories across the golf space. And when he’s not writing about ways to hit the golf ball farther and straighter, the Milwaukee native is probably playing the game, hitting the ball left, right and short, and drinking a cold beer to wash down his score. . You can reach him about any of these topics – his stories, his game or his beers – at nick.piastowski@golf.com.