Punishment for Sahith Theegala's self-reporting laws? Here's what you lost (and gained)

Two and a half million dollars have yet to be deposited. An unrecorded Official World Golf Championship win.

But Sahith Theegala seems to be applauded by many people.

And a good night's rest.

After the much-discussed move from the 26-year-old professional during Saturday's third round of the Tour Championship, its summary will probably read something like this at the time: Both were very expensive – and precious. On the third hole at East Lake Golf Club, after dropping his ball into the fairway bunker, Theegala called himself a foul after brushing the sand where he hit his second stroke, two strokes short. unusual.

There was money. The Tour Championship is the PGA Tour's season-ending event and the highest paying tournament. Dropped shots are expensive, especially those from players near the top of the leaderboard, where the payoff is in the seven figures, and that's where Theegala found himself after rallying behind a penalty to shoot an impressive five-under 66 on Saturday. On Sunday, in the final round, he was twice better and finished third officially, six shots behind winner Scottie Scheflfer – and two behind runner-up Collin Morikawa.

Two. The same number of strokes fell due to violations of the law. Damage to your money? Morikawa earned $12.5 million and Theegala brought in $7.5 million, but if they had tied for second, each pro would have pocketed $10 million — meaning Theegala's call cost him $2.5 million.

Then there is the leaderboard. The Tour Championship plays its event under a first-round format, with pros starting a certain number of shots below par based on their play over the course of the year – but OWGR only recognizes statistics without bonus strokes. There, Morikawa won, with 22 points less, one shot better than Theegala, and you can do the math if there was no penalty.

Depression? It depends on your opinion, of course.

More than a few spectators applauded Theegala. Praise came through social media. It was heard on NBC radio on Sunday.

Commentator Brad Faxon said when Theegala played the 18th hole: “It makes you love golf when you see that. You rarely hear that in any other sport.”

Broadcaster Dan Hicks said: “It gives you more insight into who Sahith Theegala is.”

Said Faxon: “You can look at yourself in the mirror when you wake up, that's for sure.”

Said Hicks: “It's about doing the right thing for Theegala, and that's all that mattered.”

Theegala's girlfriend, Julianna Chan, also weighed in. On Saturday, he posted a TikTok video in which he chatted with Theegala during this time, and added: “Sahith is obviously an honest man.”

All of this raises this thought:

What if Theegala had just moved forward after the bunker shot? Be quiet. No one saw what happened—and even Theegala himself wasn't 100 percent sure he did anything wrong, putting it at “98, 99 percent certainty” that he was just brushing off grains of sand.

It wasn't an option.

On Saturday night, the reporter had this interview with him, and the question is written in simple words, and Theegala's answer below.

“Would you sleep badly if you didn't call yourself?”

“Oh, I couldn't sleep,” he began.

“I was explaining the situation – no matter what the outcome was, I needed to know what the real law was,” Theegala continued. “Though Xander and I [playing partner Xander Schauffele] he thought that whatever, it's okay, you touched a grain of sand, you didn't mean to remove it, you're okay. I decided to call the official rules right away on that green. But anyway, I would have asked the rules officials after the round, and, or somehow I found out what the rules were, and if I didn't ask the rules officials and I went home and looked at the rules – it was still there. in my mind.

“Also, intuition, it was as if I was moving the sand. It was always in my mind. If I went back after the round, I looked at that and found out that two penalties, I'd be DQ'd right now. So I'm glad I brought it up right away. I know the rules of golf better now. There are many silly things you can do in the basement. You can put the club in the basement, you can literally stand – you can use your golf club as a stand in the basement. As long as it's not near your ball.

“There are many things you can do. But unfortunately if it's in an area that affects the lie and swing of your gun, no matter what your aim is, it's a two-shot penalty.”

Nick Piastowski

Golf.com Editor

Nick Piastowski is a Senior Editor at Golf.com and Golf Magazine. In his role, he is responsible for planning, writing and promoting news on the golf course. And when he's not writing about how to hit the golf ball forward and straight, the Milwaukee native is probably playing the game, hitting the ball left, right and short, and drinking a cold beer to wash down his scores. You can contact him about any of these topics – his news, his game or his beer – at [email protected].