Sahith Theegala called for the sentence on Saturday.
NBC Sports
Even on video replay, it's hard to tell if Sahith Theegala touched the sand in the bunker Saturday at East Lake, but he's apparently pretty sure he did.
After hitting his shot on the 4th hole of the third round at the Tour Championship on Saturday, Theegala called a PGA Tour rules official to tell him he believed he had touched sand while playing his way from a fairway bunker the hole before.
After Theegala and the official conferred for a while, the PGA Tour's top TV rules and video analyst Mark Dusbabek came on NBC radio to confirm that Theegala had incurred a two-stroke penalty for violating Rule 12.2b.
“He felt like he hit the sand on his last hole when he hit the backswing,” Dusbabek said. “It is a penalty if you touch the sand when the ball is in the sand. We're sure he feels he did, so there will be two penalties for him.”
This is the first event held at the newly renovated East Lake and NBC analyst Brad Faxon was quick to point out that Theegala was close to the lip of the first home right of the three.
“So he was trying to hit the gun and he had to hit it in the air,” said Faxon. “A lot of times, you put more weight back on your right foot and your takeoff will be lower because of that.
“That stinks and it's great that he can admit it because no one else would.
Theegala had just made a 25-foot putt on No. 2 to get to 13 under, 4th overall and seven shots behind Scottie Scheffler in the race for the Tour Championship and the $25 million FedEx Cup titles. After the decision, his par on the 3rd hole was changed to a double bogey and he dropped back to 11 under, tied for fifth.
Smylie Kauffman reported that Theegala slammed her water bottle down in frustration after receiving the verdict.
After Theegala finally played his way to the 4th hole, the NBC crew watched slowly, zoomed in on Theegala's tee shot on No. 3 and no one could pinpoint where Theegala touched the sand.
“I don't see much there,” analyst Kevin Kisner said. “I was going to argue [Dusbabek] when I finish. I got my two shots back.”
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It was then that NBC brought Dusbabek back to confirm that Theegala was the person who had reported the violation. Self-reported penalties are nothing new in golf, with a fellow player self-reportedly correcting himself in a match suited to the US Open last year (This writer reported inadvertently delivering the ball to a top player this past spring). But it's rare on the PGA Tour that cameras and spectators witness every single shot.
“You know, I think the guy knows,” Dan Hicks said. “I think he heard it and knew he did it.”
After the team reviewed Theegala's time in football, Kisner agreed.
“The hitter always knows,” said the pundit who is still somewhat active on the PGA Tour. “You know when it will be short. You know when it's going to be long and you know when you brush that sand. He felt like he was being helped by the sand near the club as he pushed it back.”
Dusbabek confirmed that officials will discuss the incident with Theegala again after the round and show him the video. But the officials went to Theegala again 30 minutes later after he was out in 6th place.
Although some fans near Theegala when he was playing number 3 said they did not see him touch the sand, the Tour found video evidence that proved Theegala's claim.
“If you see the video, there is sand, behind the ball, you can see that it was removed when he took the backswing,” said Dusbabek.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
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